


A Lifelong Fan in Me

by some1upoyo



Series: Persona: A Fateful Romance [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Persona 5 Protagonist is from Inaba, shusumi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/some1upoyo/pseuds/some1upoyo
Summary: Ren was never interested in much and he tended to pass time doing very little. One day, when watching TV to kill his boredom, he sees something that catches his interest, and the outcome changes the course of what would have been...
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Series: Persona: A Fateful Romance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924372
Comments: 184
Kudos: 243





	1. Blossoming Violets

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so if there are any issues I'll try to fix them. Also my posting schedule and chapter length are probably gonna be inconsistent. Thanks to the authors who wrote the fanfics that inspired this work, and a special thanks to Hawkright for giving me the opportunity to get my feet wet with writing one!

It was a quiet dinner at the Yoshizawa residence, and they were eating together as a family, mostly in silence. A middle-aged man with slicked back graying hair and a pair of brown glasses sat next to his wife, a red-haired, short statured woman with striking crimson eyes. Across from them sat their daughters, twins even. One had auburn hair tied up in a ponytail with a red ribbon and her father’s brown eyes, as well as a beauty mark on her left cheekbone. Her sister sitting next to her had their mother’s hair, flowing down her back like a waterfall, with ruby eyes hidden behind black full-framed glasses.

The silence at the table was almost tangible, as the only noises really audible were of people eating and metal hitting porcelain as the two girls, Kasumi Yoshizawa and Sumire Yoshizawa respectively, finished their meals faster than their parents.

The peace and quiet surrounding them shattered as Kasumi asked their parents a question that would bring them down a rabbit hole of events:

“Mom? Dad? Can I try out gymnastics?”

Shinichi, their father, paused before looking at his wife, Akane. They shared a knowing look as they always saw Kasumi awed by what gymnasts were able to do on the TV, and smiled.

“Of course, dear. We’ll help you get ready for it with whatever you need.”

“Yay! Sumire, do you want to do it with me?” Kasumi was ecstatic at her parents readily accepting, shocking Sumire when she was suddenly invited to join.

“U-uhh, yes! I’ll do it!” Sumire managed to stammer out as she stared down into her plate.

Kasumi was hoping for that as she hugged Sumire tightly. “Let’s do our best! I won’t lose to you Sumire!”

Sumire looked away shyly as she quietly said, “I hope I can do better than you too Kasumi…”

* * *

“Hello, girls. I’m Hiraguchi. I’ll be your gymnastics coach starting today.”

The twins, dressed in their leotards, were brought to meet a dark-haired woman wearing a blue coat and yellow sweater. After a quick round of introductions, Shinichi and Akane turned and left, waving to their daughters as they walked out the door.

“You girls need to get in shape. I’ll teach you the basics, but the way you develop your skills is up to you.”

Kasumi piped up, “Don’t worry, Coach! I’ve been interested in gymnastics for a while already, and I’ve been learning stuff for being an athlete!”

Hiraguchi gave a small smile as it quickly faded. “That’s good to know. Sumire? How about you?”

“I-I-I haven’t prepared as much as Kasumi… I don’t even know where to begin aside from my diet.”

Hiraguchi maintained a flat expression as she backed up and said, “Ok. Your parents told me you wanted to do rhythmic gymnastics, so we’ll start there. Start stretching and we’ll work on dancing.”

“Dancing?” Kasumi and Sumire asked in unison. They were expecting to do flexibility exercises, not dancing.

“In order for you to pull off the moves you need in rhythmic gymnastics, you’ll have to have good coordination. Not to mention, if you watch some rhythmic gymnasts, their routines almost look like dances.”

“Okay Coach! Let’s do it!” The twins said as Kasumi held her head high while Sumire looked at her feet.

* * *

1 year later, and a young, frizzy-haired boy was slouched in front of the TV, casually scrolling through channels for lack of a better thing to do today.

“Why is there so little to do today…” The teen, Ren Amamiya, leaned forward and planted his face into his hands, groaning in frustration. He started scrolling through channels faster looking for something to pass the time, stopping when he saw the broadcast of a competitive gymnastics meet happening at that moment.

“Our next contestant is Sumire Yoshizawa!” The announcer’s voice blared through the speakers in the TV as Ren decided ‘why not, I’m bored anyways.’ His nonchalance turned into interest and enrapturement, however, when he found himself drawn in by the elegance of the teen gymnast’s moves as they flowed together. The gymnast in question moved almost regally as she travelled, no, _danced_ across the mat beneath her. Her red hair trailed behind, accentuating her movements with an added grace as she maneuvered the ribbon in her hand for her finale.

Ren stared at the screen until the routine was done, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He ran his fingers through his unruly hair as he processed what he just watched.

“That was… amazing.”

Ren watched as the remaining gymnasts came to the mat as they performed their routines, but after Sumire’s performance, he was hardly interested in what they did. As he watched the last act come to an end, he realized he had a newfound interest in gymnastics, especially the routines Sumire would perform next.

After some internet searches, he learned enough about gymnastics that he learned how to enjoy her routine on an even deeper level than before.

He would look into the meets Sumire attended. That performance stole his heart the moment he saw it.

* * *

“We’re going to Inaba for our next meet!”

Ren’s ears perked up at this line he heard Kasumi Yoshizawa say after the next meet. He almost dozed off after he watched Sumire’s performance, since hardly any of the other gymnasts save Kasumi could realistically match her, but even then, Sumire’s elegance and grace were superior in his personal opinion.

“Are you sure you’ll be ok though?” The interviewer asked worriedly. “You heard of the serial murder case going on in Inaba right now, right?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of it. But since there haven’t been any deaths recently, I feel like it should be safe to go there. Plus, there’s probably more space for me and Sumire to practice our gymnastics in the open, so I’m willing to put in the effort to win, even with the risk!”

Inaba.

_Inaba._

They would be coming to his hometown.

As the shock wore off, he pulled himself together and decided to go for a walk to clear his head.

‘These walks are pretty relaxing. I should do these more often.’

As he idly walked through the shopping district, he ran across a familiar young man 5 years older than him walking out of Daidara’s Metalworks.

“Hey Yu-san.”

“Ren! How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know. Not much.” Ren shrugged as he suppressed a blush as he thought of Sumire, who he began developing a crush on the more he watched her routines.

“Ha! From that light blush on your cheeks I’m thinking you’ve got a girl on your mind.”

Ok, maybe he didn’t hide his blush well.

“I’ve gotta go. Say hi to everyone for me!” Ren ran off, his face slightly dusted with pink as he rushed away.

* * *

After setting up in their hotel room, Kasumi and Sumire decided to explore Okina City. It was close enough to Inaba that they could get to the meet without much issue, and they arrived with enough time to practice and get better-acquainted with the neighborhood.

Kasumi ran around like a kid who ate a few too many candy bars, exploring the stores and seeing the sights with Sumire in tow. Sumire looked at the area but wasn’t too impressed until they went to the countryside of Inaba itself.

The air was so clean, the surroundings quiet. The smell of steak croquettes fresh off the grill wafted down the street. All of it was relaxing and a good escape from the shadow of her sister. Here, Sumire felt _free_.

Kasumi and Sumire walked along the road, chatting along the way until they reached the Samegawa riverbank.

“This would be a good place to train, wouldn’t it Sumire?”

“It would! There’s lots of space and not many hard surfaces, so we don’t need to worry too much about you tripping and falling.” Sumire jabbed at Kasumi since she tended to stumble while performing some of her riskier and bolder maneuvers.

“Sumire! Come on, sis! I don’t trip that much…” Kasumi fake pouted as they shared a laugh. They never felt like this before.

“Let’s call Coach and tell her we found a nice place to practice.”

Kasumi pulled out her phone and dialed Coach Hiraguchi’s number while Sumire wandered around taking in the sight around her. In the city, they never got to see much plant life aside from the occasional decorative tree in the sidewalk. Here, though, she could take in the nature around her.

It felt refreshing.

Sumire sat down at a nearby bench while Kasumi stood off to the side ending her conversation with Hiraguchi. She turned around and sat down next to Sumire, letting out her tension from earlier. The two drifted into idle conversation before they got up to eat, heading to the steak croquette stand they passed earlier.

* * *

One day later, Ren decided now was as good a time as any to find something to try to strike up a conversation with Sumire during the meet. After going through multiple different stores to no avail, he decided to head to Okina City to look for a gymnastics-related item. He eventually settled on a sleek violet ribbon with glitter woven in between the threads, causing it to sparkle under the right lighting conditions. Satisfied with his purchase, he decided to walk home since he didn’t have a scooter like Yu did. It began to rain, but luckily, he brought an umbrella after checking the forecast for today. Behind him, he heard 2 oddly familiar voices talking behind him.

“Today’s was brutal, huh?”

He heard a pause and some shuffling before the first voice spoke up again.

“Hey, are you okay?” There was concern in the first person’s voice when the second voice started talking.

“It’s not that…” The second person sighed as they continued. “Why am I doing so bad? We put in the same amount of effort into our routines, but I never seem to catch up…”

“Your growth spurt’s just changed your eye level. You’ll get used to it. You’re the same height I am now!”

“But even then… you’re the one who always gets first place.”

“You know why? Because it’s my right as the eldest sister!” The first voice said in a joking tone, seemingly trying to lighten the mood. Ren was worried as from the conversation, it was going to take a dangerous turn.

“You don’t understand… you’ll never understand!!!” The second voice suddenly grew angry as the owner of the voice rushed in his direction, hitting him as they ran past.

“Sumire!!!”

Ren’s head snapped forward. He saw the familiar red hair flowing behind the figure who pushed past him, and running toward him was the familiar gymnast’s sister.

* * *

Kasumi was scared and confused. Why did Sumire say those things? Why did she run?

She started chasing after Sumire, who was quickly getting lost in the crowd. Suddenly, a teen beside her bolted toward Sumire in a dead sprint. He had frizzy hair and dropped his umbrella to chase after Sumire. Kasumi followed close behind, trying to keep track of the frizzy-haired teen.

Oh no.

Kasumi caught sight of her sister quickly making her way toward a crosswalk. In her haste, she tripped and scraped her knee before she reached the corner of the sidewalk. To her left, she could hear a police siren and saw a green delivery truck barreling toward her sister at high speeds. Tailing it was a silver SUV with what appeared to be a portable siren. A somewhat gruff-looking detective was at the wheel, determination evident on his face as he chased the truck down the street.

“Shit!” The teen in front of her seemed to have noticed the cars barreling toward them. He ran faster as he almost caught up with Sumire. Unfortunately, however, they were about to get hit by the truck as it reached the intersection.

“LOOK OUT!!!” The teen yelled as he pulled off a running tackle, throwing him into Sumire as he tried to get the both of them out of the path of the incoming truck.

**WHAM!**


	2. A Fan of Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the crash leads to a change in how Sumire thinks of herself.
> 
> Also I can't be bothered to write a full summary it was annoying enough doing it the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Dev0ted for beta reading this chapter for me!

There were sirens everywhere.

Kasumi looked at the crosswalk in despair. The boy who ran into traffic after her sister was sprawled across the ground, unconscious as he held on tightly to Sumire. Her sister was shellshocked and, from where she was right now, Kasumi could still tell Sumire was lightly injured, but not so hurt that it would cripple her gymnastics routine. There was some blood, but there was only a little coming from a cut on Sumire’s knee.

An ambulance arrived, picking up the boy and Sumire as Sumire began to calm down and realize the situation she was in. She got up and freed herself from the boy’s grasp, but stayed with the paramedics to hopefully give thanks to the person who saved her life. Kasumi picked herself off of the ground and chased after the paramedics.

“Wait!”

The paramedics looked toward her inquiringly.

“Can I come with you? He saved my sister. She’s the girl with you.” Kasumi gestured to the boy, hoping to support Sumire as well as thank the person who risked his life for Sumire.

The paramedics’ eyes had a glint of understanding, and they allowed Kasumi to sit next to Sumire alongside the boy, who was now secured to the stretcher. After ensuring that everything was properly secured, the ambulance began the trip to Inaba Municipal Hospital. Kasumi attempted to console Sumire during the ride, but Sumire’s silence told Kasumi that she didn’t want to talk at the moment. All they could do was watch the boy as he breathed in and out, one of his legs oddly aligned

The ride was quiet until they reached the hospital.

* * *

Ren woke up bleary-eyed as he took in his surroundings. He was no longer on the intersection, lying on the crosswalk he rushed to. Instead, he was surrounded by cream-colored walls as he lay in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV with clear fluid. He was also in dry clothes which, when he looked down, saw that he was wearing a hospital gown instead of his usual clothes. There were 2 chairs in the room, and they were occupied by 2 familiar-looking girls.

“You two…” Ren started to get up, but was pushed down firmly by the shoulders by the two girls.

“You should rest,” the auburn-haired girl insisted. Ren settled back down while looking at the girls when he paused, remembering where he saw these two girls before.

“Wait, you two are the gymnasts, right? Sumire and Kasumi Yoshizawa?”

The girls froze before nodding slowly. They didn’t know this boy’s name, but he somehow knew theirs, putting them on edge.

Ren noticed them tense up, however, so he laughed and tried to put them at ease. “Relax, relax. I’ve never introduced myself to you so it may seem a bit weird that I know your names. I will say, though, that it’s because I’m a fan of yours, Sumire-san.”

The girls’ eyes widened in surprise as Kasumi turned to Sumire. Sumire began to flush heavily as she looked away, unused to the feeling of having someone other than her sister to support her and the feeling of being complimented.

“I’m Ren Amamiya, but you can just call me Ren.” He smiled as he held out his hand.

“O-oh, th-then you ca-can call me Sumi-Su-Sumire,” Sumire said as she took his hand, her blush growing deeper.

“Call me Kasumi then!” Kasumi joined in the handshake, the three sharing a smile as they did so. Kasumi shone with confidence while Sumire seemed to be incredibly shy.

This would be the start of a good relationship between them, Ren thought.

* * *

Kasumi left to put away their things from practice, leaving Sumire in the room alone with Ren. Sumire sat by Ren’s side in silence until she remembered something.

‘I’m a fan of yours, Sumire.’

He couldn’t have meant that… right?

“R-Ren-san?”

Ren slowly turned his body to face Sumire while wearing a soft smile, wincing slightly from his injuries. “Yes?”

Sumire paused as she was suddenly unconfident in what she was going to say and tried to look away. Ren took her hand and held it gently as he looked at her saying, “Take your time. Say what’s on your mind. I can wait.”

“Wh-when you said y-you were my fa-f-fan… what did you m-mean by that?”

“I mean that I admire your performances. Your performance captured my interest and got me to learn about gymnastics. If not for you, I wouldn’t have considered watching the meets, let alone recognize you and your sister.”

“B-but my routine isn’t even the best one… Ka-Kasumi’s is better than mine in every way. Kasumi’s just _better_ than me in every way. She’s better at gymnastics, at school, in crowds… I can’t do anything. Everyone wants Kasumi, it’s always Kasumi. Even wh-when people approach me, it’s usually just so they can get to know Kasumi. I c-can’t be as good as Kasumi, now or ev-ever. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a burden to her or if I’m better off dead…”

Ren shook his head. The girl in front of him seemed to not know her standing compared to others, and her place in gymnastics in his eyes. He couldn’t let this girl he admired put herself down like that.

Ren quickly clasped his hands around Sumire’s, who let out a small “eep!” from the sudden contact. He winced from his sudden movement, but he felt that he had to console Sumire somehow.

“Sumire. You shouldn’t think that way. To me it sounds like you’ve been telling yourself this because Kasumi overshadows you in your perspective. Honestly, you shouldn’t do that.”

Sumire’s eyes wore a confused expression as Ren continued.

“What Kasumi does isn’t something you have to do. In the same way, what you do isn’t something Kasumi needs to do. You shouldn’t worry about being as good as Kasumi, you should worry about being better than yourself. If you improve, you’ll eventually catch up to Kasumi and maybe even surpass her.”

Her expression began to brighten as Ren continued his pep talk. “From what you’ve told me you’re thinking that you only get worse as Kasumi gets better. The problem is that since you’ve compared yourself to Kasumi, she becomes the benchmark you compare yourself against. If you only worry about improving on the you of yesterday, you’ll grow faster than before.”

Sumire had a happy smile on her face by the end of Ren’s pep talk, but she had one question.

“Kasumi’s the one e-ev-everyone wants to be friends wi-with though… how do _I_ make friends with o-others?” Sumire began to tear up as she continued, “I-I-I don’t even know where to begin.”

Ren wore a soft smile as he replied, “Find people who want you for being you. There’s always going to be someone who wants the Sumire in front of me instead of the Kasumi everyone sees.” Sumire was about to ask something, but Ren seemingly answered Sumire’s question before she asked it. “For example, I want Sumire, not Kasumi. Do you want to be friends with me?”

Sumire wiped her tears away and said with a beaming smile, “Yes! Thank you, Ren-san!” She quickly wrapped her arms around Ren for a few seconds before realizing the situation they were in, quickly withdrawing with a heavy blush on her cheeks.

“So-Sorry… I got too e-excited.”  
  
Ren put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be. Now, you don’t want to keep your sister waiting, do you?”

Sumire paused, fidgeting as she mumbled something Ren couldn’t really hear. “… y-your con-t-tact information?”

Ren looked at her confusedly, asking her “Can you say that again?”

“C-can I get y y-your con-t-tact infor-ma-mation?”

Ren smiled as he pulled out his phone. “Of course.” The two held their phones close to each other, a beep signaling that the contact was transferred before Sumire packed up her stuff and quickly said with a flustered look,

“Gottagobye!”

When Sumire came out of Ren’s room to face a waiting Kasumi holding their gym bags, Kasumi noticed that her sister, despite the dusting of pink on her cheeks, seemed happier than she had ever been before. As for why, she couldn’t pry a reason from Sumire, but she suspected there was a certain someone who did this for Sumire.

* * *

According to the doctors, Ren broke one of his legs from the truck that hit him. His leg was broken in multiple places, and considering the truck’s weight and speed, if not for him, Sumire would have been dead from the truck hitting her. Despite the painkillers he’s been given, a dull pain still emanated from his leg.

Ren heard the click of the door being opened and saw the familiar river of red hair and tied up auburn hair walk in.

“Hey Sumire. Hey Kasumi. How was practice?”

“It was great! Our routines improved a lot, especially Sumire’s!” Sumire’s cheeks were dusted with pink as she remembered thinking of the advice Ren gave her during practice, improving her routine enough that it surprised their coach. Kasumi beamed as she eagerly described their practice, the routines they did, and some small mishaps Sumire did. Sumire didn’t take kindly to that as the blush on her face deepened and interjected,

“Kasumiiii!!! I’m not the only one who tripped! You faceplanted in the grass when you messed up a backflip!”

It was Kasumi’s turn to flare up since she was hoping to not have to reveal that specific mistake.

Ren chuckled as he said upfront:

“You two are cute like this…”

The twins began to blush deeper as they processed what Ren had just said, Sumire completely shutting down as she tried to say something but failed. Kasumi, on the other hand, wore the same blush Sumire had whenever she got very embarrassed.

The door was opened again, but instead of a doctor or his parents, Ren saw Yu enter the room. He looked at the twins questioningly, who were trying to recover from something with deep blushes on their faces, before shaking his head and starting to talk to Ren.

“How did this happen? One day you’re just walking around the neighborhood and then the next you’re in the hospital with 2 blushing girls next to you.” Yu smirked as he sat beside Ren across from the girls.

“Well… It’s a long story.” Ren laid out what happened in detail to Yu. About going to Okina City to buy some things. Hearing the two girls talk before one of them bolted in front of him. How she ran into the crosswalk. About the delivery truck that was being chased by a car with a siren. How he saved her from the truck but got hit in the process.

Ren’s leg throbbed with pain as he recalled the truck hitting him as he protected Sumire.

Ren noticed Yu’s fist clench as he was talking about the delivery truck, and then he noticed the bags under Yu’s eyes.

“Yu?”

“Hm?”  
  
“Is there something bothering you? You seem really tired and out of it.”

Yu looked away, an unreadable, unfamiliar emotion in his eyes. He sighed as he knew Ren was more observative than he let on, so he decided to tell him the truth.

“The truck driver of that delivery truck that hit you is… the serial murder suspect. And because of him, Dojima-san is heavily injured, not to mention he kidnapped Nanako.”

Ren’s jaw dropped as Yu gritted his teeth. He never saw Yu like this, and with Dojima-san injured and Nanako-chan missing, Yu was likely struggling more than he let on right now. Ren felt movement to his right, and turned his head to see Kasumi staring at him and glancing nervously at Yu.

Putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Ren decided to get introductions out of the way just in case they met again. “Kasumi, this is Yu Narukami. Yu-san, this is Kasumi Yoshizawa and her sister, Sumire Yoshizawa.”

Yu held out his hand for a handshake as he tried to give a smile. Kasumi decided not to press why Yu had a sad look in his eyes as they released their hands. Sumire finally composed herself, and hid her face in the collar of her training jacket, a prominent blush still on her face. Suddenly, the door opened, and a short blue-haired girl poked her head into Ren’s room.

“Senpai, we need to go. Everyone’s waiting for you at the food court.”

“Got it, Naoto. Tell them I’ll be there shortly.”

The girl named Naoto left as Yu got up.  
  
“Get well soon. I’ll see you when I visit Dojima-san next.” Yu walked out of the room, his stride more tense than usual as he wore a stiff expression. He waved backhandedly as he closed the door behind him.

With Yu out of the room, Ren turned his attention back to the twins. The pair had light blushes on their faces as they looked away shyly. He smirked at seeing their lingering reactions, especially Sumire’s.

It would be fun teasing her when they met up next time.

A sudden thought crossed Ren’s mind as he asked, “Hey Sumire, when’s the meet happening again?”

Sumire looked toward Kasumi, not knowing exactly when the meet was before replying “I-it’s in 3 da-days, at 10 am. H-Hopefully you ca-can recover en-enough to go to the meet…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I can get to the meet. Hopefully I can ask for an early release as long as I avoid strenuous movement.”

Sumire smiled as she said “I’ll see you at the meet!”

The twins left as a nurse entered, and as the door closed, they heard Ren begin:

“Is it possible to be rel- “

The click of the door ended their eavesdropping as they left to eat dinner. Maybe they’d take the Beef Bowl Challenge at Aika’s before they headed back to their hotel.

* * *

Ren was pleasantly surprised that he was able to be released only 2 days after he put in the request, but he did get a stern warning from the doctor to avoid strenuous and sudden movements. After collecting everything he had before the accident, Ren was moved to a wheelchair with a cast on his still-throbbing leg, he was wheeled out of the hospital where Yu was waiting.

“You kept me waiting.” Yu smirked as he saw Ren exit the hospital.

“What’re you doing here?” Ren asked but immediately began to regret it as Yu’s smirk grew and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

“Your girlfriends asked me to pick you up and bring you to the Samegawa. They said they were gonna be there every day until their gymnastics meet and they wanted you to meet them there.”

Ren blushed slightly at the girlfriend remark before relenting and letting Yu push the wheelchair. It would have been tiring to try to go there by himself, not that he would have known where they were without Yu to tell him.

After a short “walk” with Yu, they reached the floodplain and saw Kasumi and Sumire talking on the bench with a seemingly fit dark-haired woman wearing a blue jacket and yellow dress. This seemed to be their coach. Since there weren’t any ramps nearby to go down normally, Ren got up and had Yu’s help to go down the stairs, taking the wheelchair down after Ren somewhat painfully got to the bottom of the stairs. After Ren was reseated in his wheelchair, the twins finished their conversation with their coach as she left. The twins picked up their bags and as they turned around, they saw Ren and Yu waiting for them.

“Hey Ren! Narukami-san! When did you get here?” Kasumi called out to them as she waved broadly with a large smile on her face.

“Just now. How’s it been? Looks like I can make the meet after all.” Ren smiled with a hint of a smirk at the edge of his lips. “I’m looking forward to your next performance, Sumire. Seeing your routine live will definitely be much better than seeing it through a screen.” Ren wheeled himself toward the twins and pulled them in for a tight hug. “Thanks, you two, for sticking with me even when I was just another stranger to you a few days ago. I owe you this.”

Sumire flared up instantly while Kasumi had a growing blush appear. They composed themselves and returned the hug, just as tightly.

After a few minutes of hugging, they pulled back, each of them blushing lightly unless it was Sumire, who was so red Ren could almost mistake her for a strawberry.

“Hey Ren.” Ren turned around, suddenly remembering that Yu was behind him during the entire thing. “Should we have dinner? My treat. You can even bring your dates along.” Yu wore a smirk at the last remark.

Ren reacted predictably, blushing as he tried but failed to counter what Yu just said, only sputtering as he attempted to form coherent words. The twins put their blushes back on as they stood next to Ren, but calmed down after a few minutes of broken stuttering and blushing. They agreed, and Yu took them to Aika’s again, the boys watching in astonishment as Sumire and Kasumi practically inhaled their Mega Beef Bowls, even asking for seconds.

“That’s…” Yu began.

“impressive.” Ren completed Yu’s sentence. The only person he saw complete the Mega Beef Bowl challenge was Yu, and that was after multiple failed attempts at it prior to his success.

On the way to the twins’ hotel, the four engaged in some idle conversation, Ren poking fun at how fast the two finished their beef bowls. After they reached the hotel, Ren waved as he was wheeled away back toward Inaba. Yu dropped Ren off close to his home and once they split up, Ren immediately went to his room, taking out the bag with the violet ribbon he bought on the day of the accident. With a faraway look, Ren thought to himself, ‘It won’t be long until I can give you this, Sumire.’

Ren went to sleep with a smile on his face, and when he woke up, the same smile refused to go away as he prepared to go to the meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's some shoutouts to the fics that inspired this work.
> 
> Kazura (Asphaow on AO3): Retribution of the Trickster https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405181
> 
> Deathmanstratos: Lotus, Violet, and Cherry Blossoms https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211450
> 
> violetranger: Within Arms Reach https://archiveofourown.org/works/25015480
> 
> Here's a fic I just like to read.
> 
> intenzity9: Persona: Worlds Under War https://archiveofourown.org/works/24203536
> 
> Special shoutout to a friend in the Sumi discord. He's getting back into writing and his fic has a lot of potential!
> 
> Ashido Taka (Shadow94721 on AO3) : Shards of the Past https://archiveofourown.org/works/25495900


	3. My Show of Support For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren goes to the meet with Sumire and Kasumi. Fluff and teasing involved.
> 
> Also, what're Yu and his friends up to?

Ren woke up early in preparation for the upcoming meet, swinging his legs off of the edge of his bed while being swiftly reminded why there was a wheelchair sitting next to him.

“Argh, I need to take those pain meds again…”

Ren used his good leg to quickly pivot and get seated in his wheelchair, grabbing a change of clothes and his medicine. After changing his clothes and rolling up a pant leg to accommodate his cast, Ren grabbed his bag with the ribbon in it and wheeled out of his room to eat some toast and get some fresh air before the meet.

After finishing his light breakfast and taking his medicine, the pain in Ren’s leg dissipated slightly as he went out the front door.

While Ren made his way down the street, he texted Sumire asking where the meet was. He smiled when he got a response 15 minutes later telling him to instead meet the twins at the hotel in an hour.

It would be a good idea to prepare some lunch for the meet.

* * *

Sumire’s heart fluttered as she got a text from Ren.

_“Where’s the meet taking place?”_

As Sumire began to type out the address of the stadium, she suddenly felt someone peek over her shoulder as her sister teasingly said in her ear, “Texting your boyfriend?”

Sumire pulled away holding her phone to her chest, her face heating up quicker than ever before as she turned to Kasumi.

“N-n-n-n-n-no Kasumi!!! R-R-R-R-Ren-san wanted to know where the meet is!!!” Kasumi smirked as her sister’s face immediately gained the tomato-like blush from when Ren teased the both of them a few days ago.

Kasumi threw their gymnastics supplies into 2 gym bags as she suggested, “Why don’t you tell him to meet us then? We can walk with him to the stadium and he’ll get there early.” Kasumi’s eyes had a slight glimmer as she continued. “You might be able to ask him out later once the meet is done.”

Sumire’s blush faded as Kasumi suggested going to the meet with Ren, even starting to smile. The second remark, however, made her blush return harder than before. Sumire rushed into the bathroom with her toiletries and phone, taking a shower before she got ready to leave.

As the warm water washed over her, Sumire couldn’t help but think about Ren. His eyes, his hair…

Oh god, why did she have to think of him right then and there?

Flustered, Sumire finished the rest of her shower in a hurry, a blush still on her face as she threw on her clothes. As she was drying her hair, she looked toward her phone sitting innocently beside her.

_I should probably respond to him._

Sumire grabbed her phone and typed out with shaky hands, “Meet me and Kasumi at our hotel in an hour.”

As Sumire came out of the bathroom, she wore a big smile but an even bigger blush. For the hour they waited for Ren, Kasumi relentlessly teased Sumire until she almost shut down. The hour passed, and they grabbed their bags and went down to the hotel lobby, where they saw Ren sitting in his wheelchair idly scrolling through something on his phone as he sat next to the couches.

“Ren! Over here!” Kasumi waved as she saw Ren. He looked up as he saw the two and smiled.

* * *

Ren’s eyes widened as he found himself suddenly and inexplicably wrapped in Sumire’s arms. The moment he acknowledged the pair, Sumire ran toward him and hugged him, his bag almost falling off the handle of his wheelchair as he rocked from the sudden push. Kasumi clearly had a similar expression as she just watched Sumire hold him tightly.

He felt a dull pain in his leg as it was moved suddenly when his wheelchair was rocked. Ignoring it, he hugged Sumire back for a few seconds before the two released at the same time, Sumire blushing lightly after she pulled back. A look of realization dawned on her face as she suddenly tried hiding her face, redder than her hair, in her collar and her bag. Kasumi came up behind her and opted for a more casual greeting:

“How’s your day been so far, Ren?”

“It’s been good, especially considering what Sumire did just now.” Ren smirked as Sumire tried to bury herself in her clothes in embarrassment.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry, Ren-san! I do-don’t know wh-wh-w-what came o-over me!” Sumire sputtered as she shook her hands out in front of her face.

“It’s ok. Now come on. We have a meet to get to, right?”

“Y-y-you’re right. Let’s go.”

Ren wheeled forward only to see Sumire grab the handles and begin pushing him.

“I’m the reason you were injured… at least let me do this for you.” Sumire seemed to have composed herself as she pushed Ren out the front doors, Kasumi walking by them. As they walked to the stadium, they engaged in idle conversation, with some light teasing here and there as the twins tried to motivate each other before they performed their routines. As they reached the stadium, they ran into the dark-haired woman they saw at the Samegawa yesterday, wearing a lanyard that had the word “COACH” on a card attached to it.

“Coach Hiraguchi!”

Sumire was already dreading what would come next as she saw a smirk appear on Coach Hiraguchi’s face.

“You two are here early. And with your boyfriend in tow, eh?”

“COACH!!!” Sumire yelled loudly as everyone in a 3-meter radius turned towards them. “HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!!!”

Ren put a comforting hand on Sumire, which made her flush more but also calmed her down a lot. Hiraguchi smiled as she gestured toward the stadium.

“Well, let’s go. We don’t want to be late. And for you,” Hiraguchi looked toward Ren, “come sit with me in the coach’s area. I’d like to know how you met these two and why Sumire is so fond of you.”

After the four reached the twins’ changing rooms, Kasumi immediately rushed in with a hasty farewell while Sumire lingered a bit, her hand trailing on the handle of the wheelchair as Hiraguchi took them. With a small wave, Sumire rushed after Kasumi, almost slamming the door behind her.

“Looks like she has a crush on you.”

Ren immediately looked behind him to see Hiraguchi with the same smirk as she looked down at him. He looked away almost as fast as Sumire left with a light blush on his face, Hiraguchi laughing at his reaction. “Seems like you feel the same way, huh?”

Ren opted not to respond, just waiting until Hiraguchi would drop the matter, at least until they reached their seats in the stadium. Hiraguchi waved her lanyard toward the guard, who let the both of them pass to a somewhat spacious area near the stage. There were chairs set up there with a clear view of the stage, and as they got situated in some seats, the announcer’s voice signaled the beginning of the meet.

* * *

Off to the side, Sumire and Kasumi sat as they waited for their turn to perform. Sumire was fidgeting in her seat with the ribbon she had, looking down at her feet until she heard the announcer.

“Next up, we have Sumire Yoshizawa!”

Sumire breathed in as she let her mind take over her body, her body flowing as she moved gracefully across the stage and back. She twirled her ribbon in conjunction with her movements, adding to her routine. In the middle of her routine, she hit the mat awkwardly, causing her to almost stumble as she looked up toward Ren. With a light blush and a small smile, Sumire improvised and cartwheeled into the rest of her routine.

As she curtsied, there was a smattering of applause, with some light cheering. However, there was much louder cheering coming from the coach’s seating area, and Sumire saw Ren applauding her.

As Sumire walked back to her seat, Kasumi was called up. Ever since Ren gave her the advice in the hospital, Sumire began to deviate her style from what Kasumi tended to use. As Sumire watched her sister, she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was… off about her routine. Regardless, Kasumi’s performance gained more applause than Sumire’s, like normal, but the feeling lingered in the back of Sumire’s mind.

Her thoughts raced as the remaining gymnasts performed, thinking of Ren, Kasumi’s routine, and her next routine.

‘Why did her routine look off?’

Sumire was snapped out of her thoughts by the announcer. “Next round is the final ten! We’ll continue this meet after a quick lunch break!”

She got up and walked with Kasumi towards their changing rooms.

* * *

The meet paused for lunch as it hit 12:30. The twins opted to go to their changing rooms where they saw Coach Hiraguchi and Ren sitting at the nearby table. Ren’s bag was open with 4 bento boxes spread out on the table. Hiraguchi and Ren had normal-sized bentos while there were 2 identical large bentos clearly set aside for them.

The two looked toward the door as the twins entered. Ren wore a warm smile as he gestured towards the bento boxes set aside for them, Hiraguchi contrasting it with a playful smirk.

“Your lunches are there. I wasn’t sure what you like to eat, but I made sure to make it fit in an athlete’s diet.” Sumire looked over what was in the bento and was surprised to see a nice spread of food available. She saw some sautéed eggplant, corn on the cob, a lean beefsteak garnished with peppers, and a lightly dressed salad with some miso trout. Her mouth watered just looking at the food.

Kasumi dug in, practically inhaling the food like she did with the beef bowl at Aika’s yesterday. However, Sumire savored the meal, eating it slightly slower than Kasumi was. The flavors burst in her mouth, and she felt completely re-energized by it. Each part of it was cooked amazingly, and Sumire couldn’t help but compare it to her own cooking, which almost paled in comparison.

As the 4 set down their chopsticks, Hiraguchi decided to talk with Ren and the twins until the meet resumed.

“So, how did the three of you meet?”

Ren opted to talk for the three of them and explain from the beginning. How he saw and felt Sumire’s performance in gymnastics. The year of watching gymnastics after seeing it. Meeting the twins in Okina City. Hanging out with them when he was hospitalized after saving Sumire from an accident.

Sumire blushed lightly as she heard Ren’s thoughts on her from his perspective; she never felt this supported by anyone who wasn’t related to her. As she composed herself, Hiraguchi asked teasingly, “Are you two going out yet?”

A full-force blush appeared on Sumire’s face as Hiraguchi continued. “I’ve heard that men who can cook make good husbands…”

Ren swore he could see smoke come out of Sumire’s ears as she planted her face in the table, trying to hide her further reddening cheeks.

Kasumi looked at the clock and gasped, “Sumire! We need to get ready for the second round!”

After ushering Hiraguchi and Ren out of the room, Kasumi and Sumire got ready and went to their seats, the former pair doing the same.

* * *

The next round, they were down to 10 participants, Sumire and Kasumi included.

Sumire’s performance seemed to somehow have more grace than her performance in the first round. Ren noticed something different, noticing that Sumire had her hair in a ponytail instead of a bun as it trailed her movements, a streak of crimson adding on to her already flowing movements.

Backflip. Jumping backward spin. 2 grounded spins. Ribbon flourish during forward stride. Hop. With each move Sumire performed, her ribbon and her hair smoothly and gracefully followed it, giving it an elegance Ren only noticed in small amounts before.

Sumire ended her performance with a landing split, and this time, Ren didn’t need to lead the cheer as the audience erupted in applause.

Ren watched as Kasumi walked up after Sumire, just like in the previous round, and performed a routine that almost resembled Sumire but with bolder and more daring moves, but they didn’t mesh as well as Sumire’s did. Soon, the second round was done, and the announcer’s voice boomed around them.

“The 2 gymnasts going into the finals are… Kasumi Yoshizawa and Sumire Yoshizawa! The battle of the twins! Who will come out on top? First up, Sumire Yoshizawa!”

As Sumire walked up to the stage, the stadium was loud with cheering. However, Sumire noticed that there was a louder cheer somewhere in the stadium, and she tried to look around for it. Her eyes landed on Ren cheering his heart out while sitting next to Coach Hiraguchi, giving her a much-needed confidence boost.

As Sumire got in her starting pose, she saw her coach’s mouth move slightly as Ren tilted his head slightly.

Good. Coach noticed.

The judges signaled Sumire to start her routine. She immediately pushed forward, lightly skipping and jumping, turning as she ran through her routine in her head.

Hop. Skip. Cartwheel into a backflip. Spin. 2 skips. Toss the ribbon. Jump into 3 spins. Catch and flourish ribbon around arm. Bow.

Her moves flowed, capturing her grace in each move as she danced across the stage. Her ribbon trailed with every move, accentuating her moves in a way she never saw before. As she bowed with one last flourish of her ribbon, all she heard was the soft panting from her mouth at the effort she put in.

Loud cheering suddenly erupted from the stands, causing Sumire to shoot upright. She wasn’t expecting this loud of a response from the crowd, especially compared to her previous performances. When she looked around, she saw Ren leaning on Coach Hiraguchi, leading the audience on to cheer for _her_ , for Sumire.

“Sumire Yoshizawa,” the announcer began as the judges finished their deliberation. “Your score is… 8.9!”

The applause continued as Sumire bowed again before rushing back to her seat. She rested and untangled her ribbon, finally relaxing as she settled in her seat. She watched Kasumi’s routine, full of new, unique, and bold moves, but the nagging feeling remained. Sumire looked at her sister’s performance as her sister moved through the stage.

Two skips. A leaping split. A ribbon thrust into spin. One hop. A spin into holding her ribbon above her head to end.

Sumire saw that the audience gave her a standing ovation, all except one member. Ren.

Sumire’s heart fluttered as she saw that Ren truly followed through with his words and was a fan of Sumire as herself, not a fan of Sumire as Kasumi’s sister.

“Kasumi Yoshizawa, your score is…” The announcer trailed off as he squinted at the score he was shown, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“8.9! We have a tie!”

The audience cheered as Kasumi rushed to Sumire and took her hand, pulling her to the stage. The twins both wore gold medals as they waved to the crowd.

The meet ended, and the twins met up with Ren and Hiraguchi, who were both smiling from ear to ear.

“Congrats Sumire!” Ren wheeled up to the redheaded girl as she shyly smiled.

“Good work you two.” Hiraguchi smiled.

Ren took out his bag and opened it, pulling out the ribbon he bought almost a week ago. “Sumire,” he began. “This is what I was doing before the accident. I bought it for you since it seemed like it would go well with your routine, and I want to support you on the road to your goal.” Sumire gingerly took the ribbon from his hands, tearing up slightly as she watched it sparkle in the light. It was even violet-colored, matching her name and fitting her leotard.

Ren smiled a bit as he continued, “Plus, this is my show of support to you, as your fan and your friend.”

* * *

After going out for ice cream with the twins, Ren saw them off to their hotel as the trio split up. On the way home, he fingered a long, thin implement he was holding, a ribbon trailing from the end he didn’t hold.

Sumire gave him her old ribbon as a way of showing thanks to him, and as a way for the two of them to recognize each other if they ever met again.

Storing the ribbon in his bag, Ren decided to stop by Junes to get some groceries to prepare some dinner at home. As he was browsing the spices, he noticed Yu out of the corner of his eye as well as his group of friends. Oddly, they were headed to the electronics section of the store; Ren curiously followed them, hiding behind shelves wondering what they were up to.

The group stood in front of a large flat-screen TV as they all put on odd-looking glasses with a rainbow decal on the arms.

“Let’s go, Leader!” Ren noticed Naoto as she nodded to Yu as he put his hand out… towards the TV? What were they doing?”

As Yu moved forward, Ren watched as the screen rippled like water when Yu’s hand touched the screen. Ren couldn’t help but gasp lightly when he saw Yu push further in, his arm getting sucked into the screen. However, this gasp was louder than he thought, as all the people in Yu’s group turned in his direction at the same time.

“Ren?” The group said in unison.

“Yu-san? Everyone? What are you guys doing?”

Yu pulled out his arm and pinched his brow. He would have a lot of explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna have a slower update schedule since I'm preparing college app stuff. I will say thanks to everyone for somehow getting me up to 1k hits within a week of starting this fic!
> 
> To those who noticed, yes, I based the meet off of the meet in Within Arms Reach by violetranger, partially because it's a good fic and also because I'm too lazy to look it up. There's a hidden reference to Persona 4 Golden during lunch, and kudos to anyone who can find it.
> 
> Look forward to combat in the next chapter!


	4. Seeker of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and the twins hang out one more time before the twins leave. Ren gets his first taste of combat in the TV world.
> 
> Timeskip coming up soon cuz i can't be bothered to write in 5 years' worth of filler. Sue me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot here's the next chapter. A bit faster than usual but here's a taste of what combat will probably be like later in this fic. Hopefully I'll get the time and the inspiration to actually do more than a few sentences in my college app essay.
> 
> Thanks to Dev0ted for beta reading and pointing out an issue in the story that helped for later!
> 
> The easter egg in the last chapter is in the next notes.

The group split into two to go up the elevator to the Junes Food Court, Yu going with Ren and a brown-haired girl with messy twintails who he easily recognized as Risette. Yu’s knuckles were white with how tightly they were gripping the handles of his wheelchair. As the group reconvened, Yu introduced everyone to Ren, who introduced himself right after.

“So,” a brown-haired boy with headphones who introduced himself as Yosuke spoke up. “Now that Ren-kun knows about us going into the TV, what do we do, Leader?”

“Let’s explain the TV world and the case to Ren. I get the feeling he has the potential to get a similar power to us.”

“Well, you don’t hafta say it twice!” Rise said.

Yu and his friends, who called themselves the Investigation Team, explained the case from the beginning. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have believed their explanation of “entering the TV”, but after witnessing Yu almost get sucked into the screen of one, there wasn’t going to be much that would faze him on that topic anymore. As they explained each person’s disappearance, Ren filled in the holes. The times matched up and explained how they were always inexplicably found somewhere in or around Junes.

As the explanation concluded, Ren asked about what Yu was talking about in the hospital.

“So Nanako-chan is in the TV world right now?”

The Investigation Team nodded at the same time.

“Can I come with you?”

Silence washed over the group until the bear mascot, Teddie, waddled up to Yu and whispered in his ear. Yu had a look of understanding as the two glanced at Ren, who was evidently confused by what they were talking about.

Teddie pulled away as Yu began, “You can. We’ll even take care of your leg while we’re at it. Let’s do it tomorrow, though. You’re seeing off those girls then, right? It’ll avoid raising suspicion when you can suddenly walk again.”  
  


The Investigation Team split up as Yu wheeled Ren to his house. While they were going through the shopping district, Ren thought about the events that happened today, and when he thought of Sumire and Kasumi, he remembered that he had yet to thank Yu.

“Oh, right! Yu, thanks for the ingredients you gave me before. I ended up making lunch with it today and the girls enjoyed it. Where did you get them? They looked better than the ones at Junes.”

Yu smirked as he said, “Yosuke wouldn’t appreciate that comment, you know.” Silence washed over the pair as they burst out laughing as they tried to catch their breath. “Actually, all of it is fresh. I grew most of the ingredients and caught those fish. I happened to have some extras that I didn’t need so why not make the most of the produce? You seemed to be a natural at cooking.”

Ren felt his hair being ruffled as Yu snuck in one last tease, the pair almost reaching Ren’s home. “If you ever need a wingman for either or both of those girls, you have my number.”

“Yu…” Ren had an annoyed tone as he looked at Yu, who was holding in another laugh.

As Ren was about to argue, Yu cut him off by stopping in front of Ren’s house. “Looks like this is where we split. See ya Ren!” Yu backhandedly waved as he walked off casually, glancing behind him to see Ren wheeling himself into his front door.

As Ren closed the door behind him, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text message to Sumire.

Ren – Hey, Sumire.

Ren-san? Do you need something? – Sumire

Ren – Do you want to go out with me tomorrow? I know you’re leaving soon.

E-eh?! Just you and me? G-g-go out t-tom-tomorrow? – Sumire

Ren – I just want to hang out before you leave. We can keep in touch afterwards. Bring Kasumi if you want.

O-okay… – Sumire

Should we meet at the Samegawa floodplain? – Sumire

Ren – Great! See you at 8 am?

Sure! – Sumire

He pocketed his phone and got some things ready for tomorrow. He smiled at the thought of hanging out with Sumire, and the thought of entering the TV world gave him a rush of adrenaline. Hopefully things would go his way.

* * *

Sumire and Kasumi were waiting at the Samegawa with their luggage the next day, a few minutes earlier than Sumire and Ren agreed on. On the way, they picked up some steak croquettes and enjoyed them for breakfast.

While they stood on the floodplain, they were idly talking until they heard Ren’s voice behind them.

“Sumire! Kasumi!”

Ren wheeled up to them with a smile on his face.

“Ren-san!” The two ran up to him before he reached the stairs. In a repeat performance of what happened before the meet the day before, Sumire hugged Ren, taking care not to knock him over as he was still wearing his cast. Ren returned the hug, gesturing Kasumi to join in. She came up and hugged him as tight as Sumire, feeling Ren pull her in before the twins realized the situation they were in. They shot back, looking around as, to their relief, no one was around to see them.

They both wore light blushes as Ren warmly smiled.

“Come on. Let’s explore Inaba some more before you have to go back on the train.”

After going to the croquette stand for breakfast, they went around Inaba, going around the shopping district as Sumire pushed Ren along with them.

They bought matching lucky charms from the shrine, spending a bit of time in the calming atmosphere before wandering around. Eventually, they headed back to Okina City, stopping at a fashion store called Croco Fur. The twins got Ren a thin silver chain necklace with a dog tag that had Ren Amamiya engraved on it. Ren, after browsing a bit, picked matching necklaces with a small colored stone in each, a violet-colored stone on Sumire’s and a scarlet-colored stone for Kasumi.

As they paid for their gifts to each other, they each had a relatively light blush, Sumire blushing more heavily than Kasumi and Ren combined. As they left the store, they exchanged bags shyly, looking inside to see what they got each other. Ren grinned as the three of them pulled out necklaces, and found another opportunity to tease them.

“Looks like we think the same, huh?”

For a second, the twins flashed red as they grew embarrassed from this light teasing Ren always seemed to succeed at. They all put on their necklaces and smiled at each other before Ren checked his phone.

“Oh, shoot! It’s almost time for you to leave, isn’t it? Should we get lunch before you go?”

Kasumi pulled out her phone and gasped softly. “You’re right! Let’s get lunch quickly!”

Sumire quickly grabbed the handles of Ren’s wheelchair again and ran alongside Kasumi. There wasn’t anywhere to eat nearby aside from Aika’s, so they rushed there for some ramen and fried rice. Ren watched them inhale their meals for the third time, the twins ordering practically the entire menu before all of the food was sucked into their small stomachs.

Satisfied, they walked leisurely toward the station, making small talk with surprisingly little teasing. As they waited for the train, they sat down, Sumire taking out her new ribbon and fidgeting with it as they waited for the train to pull in. Kasumi pulled out her phone and texted her parents to let them know that they were going to be on the train soon.

A horn signaled the arrival of their ride, the twins putting away their things while it stopped in front of them, the screech of metal on metal hurting their ears. Kasumi got up and looked towards Sumire, who hesitated for a second with a prominent blush before hugging Ren’s arm, immediately letting go as she grabbed her stuff and dashed into the train, a blur of red trailing behind her.

He chucked as Kasumi dashed in after her sister, the pair reappearing in a nearby window. A voice alerting the people on the platform blared as the train’s doors closed.

As the twins waved from their train, Ren waved back until he couldn’t see them anymore. He sent off a text to Sumire before he left:

“Text me when you get home.”

Putting his phone away, he turned around and made his way to Junes, where the Investigation Team was beginning to gather for their upcoming adventure into the TV world.

* * *

“Alright, Investigation Team, let’s go!” Yu declared as he got up from his seat.

“Yeah!” Yu’s friends all cheered as they got up, Ren joining in the former. They left for the electronics department, and a tall bleach blonde wearing his coat over his shoulders helped hold Ren so he was stable as Yu reached out towards the TV.

Ren began to reach out as Yu touched the screen, only to be greeted with a blinding migraine as his fingers created a second ripple on the screen.

He recoiled as he heard an otherworldly voice in his head, his free hand clutching his face. Startled, Yu turned around as Ren stumbled slightly.

**Art thou willing to tread thy own path unshaken?**

**If thou wouldst forge thy own path for the sake of thy own future,**

**Thou shalt follow thy heart to thy truth.**

**Stand with the Seekers of Truth and begin thy own journey!**

“Ren, you ok?” Yosuke and a brown-haired girl in a green jacket, Chie, looked at him in concern as he wore a pained expression.

Yu seemed to have a knowing look as he said to the others, “Don’t worry. It looks like he’s feeling his Persona now.”

The Investigation team seemed to be slightly confused, but no one said anything to question Yu’s words. They knew better than to doubt his judgement in these situations.

The group all reached out into the screen, and white took over his vision as they all flew through a tunnel into an oddly foggy world.

* * *

They landed in an odd studio-like area, a stack of 3 TVs in a corner with a familiar-looking fox opposite it. As Ren took in his surroundings, Teddie held out a pair of wire-framed glasses with wide lenses. As Ren put them on, the fog seemed to disappear from his vision.

“Wow, Teddie, I never knew you made glasses as well. These fit perfectly!”

Teddie rubbed his nose as he smirked, clearly flattered with this small praise. Yu called everyone to attention as they discussed the point in the case they were at, with their objective being “Save Nanako and capture Namatame.” After the meeting was done, Teddie moved next to Ren, a blue tarot card with a star and the roman numeral XVII floating down in front of him.

“Kintoki-Douji! Diarahan!”

Teddie shattered the card with a jumping swipe, a large, rotund, red figure appeared behind him. Light green energy surged into Ren’s leg under the cast. In an instant Ren felt his bones re-align and fully heal, the pain disappearing as the energy and figure disappeared.

Ren gaped at the air behind Teddie, not really knowing what he just saw. He tested out moving his leg, a notable lack of pain letting him know that his leg was as good as new. Shaking off his surprise from seeing a Persona, even after being briefed on their existence

“Thanks, Teddie. Feels like I can walk again.” Ren pulled out his other shoe as he took off his cast and rolled down his pant leg. Putting on his shoe and storing the cast in his bag, he got up and turned to Yu with a determined look on his face.

“Let’s save Nanako.”

* * *

Ren fiddled with his combat knife before re-tucking it into his sleeve. Yu had the bleach blonde, Kanji, accompany him with Yosuke and Naoto to protect Ren. While they walked through the TV world, Ren saw very little that interested him aside from the occasional out-of-place building. Eventually, they reached a set of large gray medieval-style castle walls with a red carpet trailing out of the gateway.

“This is Nanako’s dungeon? It’s so peaceful…”

Rise closed her eyes momentarily as a tarot card similar to Teddie’s, but with a heart and the Roman numeral VI, floated down before it shattered, a feminine persona with black skin, a pearl-white dress, a visor in its hands, and a satellite antenna where its face would be. Ren was about to stumble from the sudden presence before a calming energy washed over the group as Rise wore the visor over her eyes and concentrated.

“Looks like there are some strong shadows here. You sure Ren can handle these when he awakens?”

“Even if he can’t, we can take care of them.” Yu wore a cockier smirk than usual. “Let’s move out.”

* * *

Ren’s group was in the front while the remainder took up the rear guard, prepared to assist if necessary. The entire Investigation Team had some unique choices for weapons; people like Yosuke, Yu, and Naoto opting to use more conventional weapons while Kanji, Yukiko, and Teddie used more… interesting options. Chie charged in unarmed with kicks that, for some reason, were stronger than Yu’s katana at times.

Eventually, the group reached a large door that hid a large, cross-shaped shadow with two balance dishes behind it. While Ren had been participating in combat from time to time, he was only able to use his knife, never tarnishing even after cutting through multiple shadows that oozed the odd substance they all seemed to be made of.

“We’ve seen this enemy before, but it might be different right now!” Yu called out. The 4 people in the front charged towards the enemy, weapons at the ready as tarot cards appeared in front of them before shattering as their respective owners shattered them.

As they charged in, the reserve members attacking when they could, Ren could only watch as they were assaulted by heavy spells of all the elements they usually found while fighting the Shadows. The Investigation Team was slowly being worn down as the Balance Shadow began to power its moves up and take down one person in a single hit. Kanji fell to a blast of wind, knocking him off his feet. Yosuke was zapped as he floated in place, his hair spiky from the sudden discharge. Yu and Naoto were hardier than the rest, but they were eventually overpowered by the strength of the attacks.

The reserve members didn’t fare much better, either. Chie and Yukiko, who were fighting alongside each other, fell to a pillar of fire and a glacier of ice that formed around them. Teddie tried to heal the Team’s wounds, but the flow of green energy was cut off by a sudden strike of lightning that left a burnt smell emanating from Teddie instead of the healing energy he initially used.

‘I can’t just stand by… but what can I do…?’

A blinding migraine suddenly greeted his head as he heard the same otherworldly voice ring out around him.

**Will you watch as your allies fall to protect you?**

**Are you willing to indulge in a lie for your own safety?**

“No… I will not stand by!” Ren declared as everyone in the room turned toward him.

**Hmhmhm… The look in your eyes…**

**Vow to me the strength of thy heart!**

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Your vow shall be the light that guides your path.**

**It is time for us to steal back the truth!**

Ren looked up as a tarot card floated down, but immediately it looked odd to the persona-users and Ren. Instead of resembling the tarot cards broken by the Investigation Team, it was longer with a black, red, and white appearance. Instead of having a Roman numeral in the bottom center of the card face, in its place sat the words “Le Mat”, and instead of a singular, upright theater mask decorating the back, it had two masks with the chins touching set in the center of the card. Regardless of the appearance of the tarot, Ren instinctually knew what to do as he held his hand under the tarot, a light blue, almost fiery aura surrounding him while an updraft sent his hair fluttering in every direction.

“Come, **_Ars_** ** _ène_**!”

With a flourish, Ren shattered the tarot card with an outward swipe, a tall and lanky figure manifesting behind him. As the aura dispersed, the figure materialized, wearing a red suit with a black undershirt and a white cravat, with large black birdlike wings coming from its back. A large top hat rested on top of its head, which it held with one of its clawlike hands. Its face was a grin made of fire, and with a rush, it flew towards the balance.

Ren dashed under Arsène as the two rushed the enemy. Ren let his knife slide into his hand as Arsène gathered a dark energy in its hands. Yu panicked, the energy resembling a similar type that he knew wouldn’t work against this enemy.

“Wait Ren! Darkness won’t-“ Yu began but he was cut off as Arsène launched it at the Balance, throwing it off guard as it dealt heavy damage. As the same energy coalesced in its hands again, Ren pulled ahead, holding his knife ready behind him.

“Now! Eiha!”

As Ren slashed at the Balance, the dark energy flew toward Ren, who used his knife to catch it. The spell wove around the blade as Ren continued attacking, eventually leaving an X-shaped mark on the mask as he broke the rings on the cross and cut through the chains holding the balance dishes up.

The Balance shakily got up, a blue aura flashing around it before it suddenly chilled the air around Ren as a massive ice block formed around him. Ren held up his hands to guard against the attack, not getting knocked out from it but taking heavy damage nonetheless.

“Ren-kun! Kanzeon, help us!” Rise cried out as she summoned her persona again, a wave of healing energy surrounding Ren. With another action, Ren felt himself power up physically and mentally as lavender-pink aura surrounded him. He smirked, Arsène doing the same beside him.

“Arsène! Let’s do this!”

**_“Let us finish our foe!”_ **

Arsène collected more curse energy as it flew up into the sky, Ren rushing forward before jumping high towards the heavily injured shadow. Arsène dove down, catching up with Ren and covering them with the same energy before Ren slashed twice in front of him, appearing behind the shadow kneeling with his knife behind him as it dissolved into thin air.

“Whew… I don’t remember ever feeling this much of a rush before…” Ren got up from his position and turned towards the Investigation Team, who looked at him in awe. As Arsène disappeared, Ren began to collapse as the Team rushed towards him.

“There’s a lot I want to ask right now, but for now we need to get out of here. Good job, Ren.” Yu held onto Ren as he reached into his pocket.

It took a lot of effort to give him a weak smile as Yu… ate a daikon radish? Somehow, they got back to the studio area after he ate it, but Ren was too tired to care. They went through the TV with the wheelchair in tow, Yu seating Ren on it before pushing him home.

“What’s up with Ren’s tarot card… and that skill he used…?” Yu mumbled to himself as he lifted Ren onto his bed, leaving a note on the nightstand for him to read next to his newly-obtained glasses.

* * *

Sumire got off the train with Kasumi, grabbing their luggage and their sports bags on the way out. As they walked out, they saw their dad waving towards them with their mom in the car next to him.

Wordlessly, they ran towards the car, Shinichi getting in after letting the twins put their luggage in the trunk. As they drove back home, Akane peppered them with questions about Inaba and how it felt there, ultimately congratulating them on their joint win of the meet. However, Kasumi and Sumire made sure to avoid the topic of the truck that almost hit Sumire. As they responded about Inaba and what they got up to there, Sumire’s face began showing an ever-growing blush which she tried to hide by turning towards the window and not facing her parents or Kasumi.

She failed.

Akane noticed that Sumire’s voice was more absent from their conversation and turned around, where she saw Sumire’s face wearing a blush that matched her eyes, a faraway look, and a shy smile.

Akane couldn’t pass up this opportunity to tease Sumire as she smirked, “What’s with you, Sumire? Thinking about someone?”

Shinichi piped up, asking as he kept his focus on the road. “Oh? Why are you blushing, Sumire? Does my baby girl have a boy she’s interested in?” Even facing away from each other, Sumire could tell he had a teasing smile.

She looked towards Kasumi, shaking her head to try and signal her sister to keep it a secret from their parents. Her heart dropped and her blush deepened, however, when Kasumi’s lips curved into a mischievous smile and her eyes glimmered.

“We met this boy named Ren Amamiya in Inaba. We ran into him in Okina City and became friends. Sumire’s been clingier to him than I have, though.”

As Kasumi listed off their misadventures together, making a pointed effort to avoid talking about the truck yet again, Sumire pouted as her face grew redder and redder, past the point of any normal human blush. Eventually, she felt that if she wanted to, she could fry an egg on her face. Suddenly, Kasumi dropped a bombshell.

“I think they’re in _love_ with each other…” Kasumi looked towards Sumire again, who just slapped her shoulder. Akane wore a delighted expression as Kasumi emphasized the word ‘love’.

“KASUMI!!!!”

The rest of the car ride was in relative silence, Sumire hitting the back of her mother’s seat whenever she began teasing her about Ren.

* * *

As the four reached their house, Sumire rushed to the trunk, grabbed her things, and immediately rushed into her room to avoid any more teasing from her family. Once in her room, she immediately planted her face in her bed with her blush persisting, hidden by her pillow and comforter. Hopefully, she could get rid of the blush before dinner.

The silence helped as she felt her face cool off and not turn her bed into a stovetop.

As Sumire calmed down, she heard a buzz coming from her gym bag.

‘Who could be texting me now?’ Her heart lightened as she saw the ID.

_Ren Amamiya_ – Did you get home safely?

Sumire tapped out a message, deleting it when rereading it made her blush more than she wanted. After a bit more thought, she decided on returning the question without adding anything extra in case it was used against her.

Yes! How’s your leg? – Sumire

Ren – Great. Well, maybe you should get some rest. I bet you’re tired from the trip.

Thanks. – Sumire

“So, are you texting that Amamiya boy?”

Sumire was startled at the unexpected voice as she saw her mother looking at her, the door opened just enough to poke her head through. Sumire yelled loudly as she heard her face flush.

“MOM!!! Not you too…!”

Her family would be the death of her.

* * *

Ren groggily woke up on his bed, his wheelchair next to him with his stuff in his bag hanging off of a handle. He got up, taking care not to injure his leg when he realized that his leg was fully healed.

‘So that healing spell actually worked…’ Ren tested out his leg, trying not to strain any muscles as he moved it. After ensuring his leg wouldn’t collapse when he stood and walked, he looked through his bag for his phone, texting Sumire when he woke up. After a short exchange, Ren received a call from Yu.

“Hey, Ren?”

“Yeah?”

“Good, you’re awake. How’s the leg?”

“It’s great! Tell Teddie I said thanks.”

“That’s good. I have something I want to ask you. Do you want to join the Investigation Team?”

A moment of silence passed before Ren said, “I’ll help with Nanako, and I’ll be around if you need me.”

Yu let out a breath he was holding. After talking a bit, they hung up. Ren pocketed his phone and noticed the glasses he got from Teddie next to a handwritten note.

_Hey Ren, I carried you home on your wheelchair. You went out cold after the fight against the World Balance you killed. There’s a lot about your Persona that’s weird, so I want to talk with you about it. Also, when we’re done with this case, we can train a bit in the TV world, in case we ever need to fight Shadows again. Rest up. We’ll go into the TV world when you’re recovered._

_\- Yu_

Ren simply collapsed in his bed again, mentally preparing himself to recover so they could save Nanako tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The easter egg in chapter 3 was, in fact, the bento. Pay close enough attention and every food that stood out to Sumire is growable or catchable in Persona 4 Golden.
> 
> Good job to the following people for guessing this easter egg! (link to their fics if applicable)
> 
> Gru (MrzGrumpy in AO3): Echo of the Forgotten - https://archiveofourown.org/works/24981250
> 
> TJD-03 (JudaiNeos04 in AO3): Thieves of the Night - https://archiveofourown.org/works/25717009
> 
> Bacon (GrimFanDonut in fanfiction.net): The Phantom's Shadow - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13657572/1/The-Phantom-s-Shadow
> 
> Look out for an easter egg in upcoming chapters! I'll let you know when one comes up.


	5. Let Us Begin the Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damn brat, I'll sue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> breaking away from my 6 day schedule but i'm bored and have nothing better to do so here
> 
> confidants are gonna be reworked and most of the events that get skipped or ignored are probably gonna follow p5r canon but with the relevant characters
> 
> i love going in without a plan

_“Damn brat, I’ll sue!”_

Ren sat hunched over on his jail cell bed as he ran through the events of just a few days ago. He ran his hands through his hair as he cursed whatever twist of fate led him to this point.

Ever since they helped solve the case and ultimately took down Izanami-no-Okami, Ren had been training with the Investigation team to get a better handle on his Persona and what he could do with it. He’d already grown much stronger as his forays into the TV grew more and more intense, but eventually he could catch up with people like Yosuke who had leagues more experience than them. There were 3 more persona-related events that Ren knew of, but Ren didn’t participate in any of them.

He did stand by during the first event which took place during Golden Week after they solved the case, where Yu said that they were pitted against each other in one-on-one fights in the TV world. They met some other persona-users called Shadow Operatives who seemed to be college students, and they were associated with the Kirijo Group. After the second event, they met the remainder of the Shadow Operatives and had a little celebration at Junes. The third event was a bit more obscure, but it happened in an equivalent of the TV world and still involved shadows, but Ren couldn’t extract much more information from Yu other than “it involved our dancing.”

That day’s training took longer than usual…

* * *

“You’re getting better with that knife of yours, Ren!”

“Thanks!”

Yosuke was sparring with Ren and practicing with small-arms combat, assisted by their personas. As they clashed for another time, their tarots fell between their faces and shattered, Takehaya Susano-o and Arsène appearing before a blast of energy knocked the two people back.

“Garudyne!” Yosuke formed a tornado around himself and charged, his Persona extending one arm out as wind blew around its feet. Through the green winds, Ren saw Yosuke wind up as he threw one of his kunai towards Ren.

“Arsène! Eiha!” Arsène began forming a ball of energy in front of itself, suddenly releasing it as Ren guided it around him, catching and repelling the kunai back at Yosuke. The wind and his persona dispersed, Yosuke collapsing to the ground. They’d been sparring for a while already, and by the time they reached this point, the intense mental fatigue they felt pierced through their skulls.

“Whew… you’re… hah… getting pretty strong Ren…” Yosuke panted as he put his hands on his knees, leaning forward to try to keep himself upright.

“You’re… no slouch… yourself… hah… Yosuke… hoo…” Ren was equally exhausted. Teddie casted a Mediarahan from the sidelines, getting up from the corner he sat in while watching the two spar. They turned towards the fox that followed them into the TV during their forays into the TV, and after depositing enough yen to make Yosuke groan, it gave them the same odd leaves that eased their migraines.

“I’ll never understand this fox, but at least it’s helpful…” Ren dragged himself to the TVs in the corner. They sparred for much longer than usual, and Ren felt completely drained. “See you guys…”

After leaving Junes with his stuff in his bag, he began the long walk home. He pulled out his phone to try to call Sumire, but his battery was way lower than usual, so he settled with sending her a text.

Ren – Hey Sumire. I just got off of my training.

You’re later than usual. Why didn’t you call? I was worried. – Sumire

Ren – Sorry, my phone’s low on battery…

Oh, ok. See you tomorrow? – Sumire

Ren – Yeah, sure. Bye, Sumire!

Bye! – Sumire

His phone shut off, finally draining itself after that short text interaction. Next time, maybe he should-

“Just get in the car!”

“Stop it!”

A rough male voice and a terrified woman’s voice cut his train of thought. ‘That doesn’t sound good.’ Ren began running towards the source of the voice.

“How dare you cross me!” The man yelled.

“Stop it! Let me go!” By then, Ren had gotten close enough that he could see a woman struggling in the grasp of a bald man. Even from where he was, it was easy to tell that he was drunk.

“Hey.”

The drunk man and the woman turned to face him, now aware of Ren’s presence.

“Maybe you shouldn’t do that to her.” Ren began glaring at the man.

The drunk man gruffly said “Get lost kid, this isn’t a show.” Suddenly, he whirled on the woman. “This is all because you’re so damn slow!”

He needed to lay off of the sake. This man’s breath reeked of it, even facing away.

“That’s enough out of you. Hands off of her.” Ren put his hand on his shoulder and firmly pulled him off of the woman. Ren seemed to somehow further underestimate how drunk this man was, though, as he managed to stumble over his own feet, landing on his face with a sickening thud.

Ren stepped back as the drunk man picked himself off of the ground, clutching his clean-shaven head. There was a large cut in the middle of his forehead that was oozing blood, but it didn’t seem like much more than a small injury.

“Rgh… Damn brat… I’ll sue! Hey, you!” The man declared before turning to the woman behind him. “Make a statement to the cops. ‘This brat suddenly attacked me.’ Got it?”

The woman was terrified of him, but a spark in her eye said otherwise. “If you do that… then I’ll report about the money! Is that fine with you?!”

Ren’s heart dropped to his feet when he heard the man say, “All I have to do is say you did it, and that would be the end of that. The police are my bitches, and they do anything I say.”

The next moments were vague, everything mixing into an unidentifiable blur. He didn’t know what happened to the woman he tried to save, didn’t feel anything when he was dragged away by the cops. All he knew was that in the end, he was left here. Alone. In this dingy jail cell with no way to talk to the people around him.

* * *

“Dammit…” Ren groaned in frustration as he lay down on his uncomfortable prison bed. The past week has been nothing but complete boredom. Ever since his arrest, each member of the Investigation Team came by to give him support. Yu, Naoto, and Chie, now part of the police force, collected his stuff and put it in his house, and they were all currently trying to investigate the arrest to no avail. The trial wasn’t much better either.

When Ren was arrested, all he could gather was that the police, true to that man’s word, followed his orders to a T. The trial seemed to be under that man’s control too, since the judge acted like a verdict was already decided before it even began. His testimony and his public defender’s statements didn’t help either, and they were brushed off like dust on a coat. He was told that since it was a first offense, he would be put on a 1-year probation instead of being sent to 2 years in juvie.

_Like that was any consolation._

Ren almost zoned out until the judge read out the terms of his sentence. “…the charge shall be sent to Tokyo for the duration of his probation…”

Tokyo… at least it would be more eventful than this now-hellhole of a rural town he once called home. And if he remembered correctly, Sumire mentioned that she lived in Tokyo too, right? That was one thing to look forward to….

Staring up at the gray ceiling, Ren saw an ethereal blue butterfly flutter past his eyes. As he reached up towards it, his eyelids suddenly felt incredibly heavy. He drifted off into a deep sleep.

…

The unfamiliar rattling of chains echoed throughout the room. The sound was muted, as if the walls were soft. His ragged breathing was the only other sound that he heard in his now oddly quiet cell. Somehow, his already-uncomfortable bed was even more uncomfortable.

A piano started playing, an opera singer vocalizing with it shortly after. Ren’s eyes shot open as a sudden cold breeze blew over his body. Looking up, he saw chains hanging from the ceiling, and around him were cell walls covered in blue velvet. His clothes were tattered, loose, and dirty, reminiscent of criminal outfits in the movies. Aside from the hard, concrete slab he was laying down on, there was a metal sink and toilet nearby. Getting up, he saw iron cell bars that led into a circular room. An ornate golden V decorated a circle the same shade of blue as the walls. Looking around, there were cells all along the walls, all of them unoccupied save the one he sat within.

The occupants did nothing to help with the uneasy atmosphere of this place. There were two twins that barely reached his hip, both wearing matching warden outfits dyed in the same blue. Their hair was a blonde, their eyes striking yellow. They wore eyepatches with the same fancy V on the floor in the central room, mirroring each other. Behind a desk in the middle of the room was an even more bizarre sight.

The man sitting at the desk had sticklike arms and spindly fingers, with an almost puppet-like body. He was balding, and had hair that would make any normal person look old. His bloodshot eyes seemed to never blink, and a constant grin seemed to be plastered across his face. The most outstanding feature about him, though, was his long nose.

Before Ren could make any more analogies about this odd man, a deep voice rang throughout the entire room, all coming from the man in front of him.

“Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

Velvet Room… Yu mentioned it once…

“It is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Do well to remember it.”

“Still, I am surprised.” Igor continued before Ren could say anything. “The state of this room reflects the state of your heart. You truly are a ‘prisoner of fate.’ I have no doubt that ruin awaits you in the near future… It is good that you have already begun your path to rehabilitation.”

“…does me being imprisoned in reality affect this… and ruin? Rehabilitation? What do you mean?” Ren was confused, but he learned enough to know that this was something to take seriously.

“I will disclose these details to you at another time.” Igor waved off Ren’s questions cryptically as he gestured to the twins in front of his cell. “The twins in front of you are your wardens. To your left, Caroline. To your right, Justine. Their purpose shall be disclosed to you at a later date.”

Alarms blared in the Velvet Room. Igor looked up and, seemingly unfazed by the noise, simply said “It appears your time here has drawn short. We shall meet again…”

On that ominous note, Ren’s eyelids shut almost instantaneously, drifting off into a deep sleep despite the noise ringing in his eardrums.

* * *

Sumire looked at Ren’s contact on her phone questioningly. It wasn’t like him to ignore so many calls for so long.

‘Did something happen to him?’

‘What happened after his training 2 weeks ago?’

_Does he hate you now?_

Sumire clutched her head suddenly. It had been a while since she had these thoughts. The last time she remembered feeling this way was… before she even met Ren.

It _hurt_.

Sumire tried texting him. If he wasn’t picking up calls, at the least he should be able to see a text, right?

Ren-san, is something wrong? – Sumire

_ Message Unread _

Sumire stared at her phone screen for a bit longer before she heard the familiar sound of her father clearing his throat.

“Sumire, please. Wait until you’re done with breakfast. We have to check out Shujin for your and Kasumi’s first year of high school.”

“Ok…” Sumire had a sad look on her face as she ate her breakfast a bit more slowly than usual. After they were prepared, they got on the car and began the ride to Aoyama-Itchome.

The car ride was quiet, but the car was stopped due to a traffic jam. They have been getting more common recently due to the recent subway crashes that have been happening more and more frequently. While Kasumi looked out the window to pass the time while they waited in the road, Sumire was resting her head against her headrest, eyes shut as she kept worrying about what happened with Ren.

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sound of her phone vibrating. It was a quiet sound, but the silence in the car made her almost liken it to a gunshot. Kasumi looked towards Sumire, who pulled her phone out and looked at the message. Her heart fluttered and her near-depressed look vanished instantaneously as she saw the ID. However, the message itself gave her multiple emotions, notable happy and confused.

Ren – I’m moving to Tokyo.

As Sumire typed out her response, she was startled by a voice suddenly talking to her.

“Your boyfriend?”

Sumire jumped with a small “eep!” and turned to see Kasumi leaning over to her, a smirk on her face.

“Kasumi…!” Sumire whined. Ever since the meet in Inaba when she started texting Ren, she received no end to the teasing from her mother and Kasumi. Pouting, she typed out her reply as the car began moving again.

* * *

Ren was finally released to pack his stuff up. The disdainful looks he got when he tried to go on his daily walks made him feel almost relieved to get his clothes folded and belongings stored.

‘Here’s to the possibility of a better life in Tokyo…’

Ren sealed the last box with packing tape, putting it by the door. Thankfully, Yosuke happened to live in Tokyo before he moved to Inaba, so he helped point out what to bring and not to bring for Ren’s probation. Ren made sure to bring his combat knife and glasses in his carry-on bag, however, both as a memento of the Investigation Team here and so he was more unassuming and less likely to be targeted by a yakuza or mafia member, something Yosuke emphasized when he was explaining places like Shibuya to Ren.

His packing finished, Ren flopped on his bed, his room now feeling more barren from the lack of stuff decorating the shelves and walls. He pulled out his phone to be greeted with a low battery screen.

“Right… I forgot it ran out of power that day… ugh.”

Ren plugged in his phone and just lay down in bed. After it charged enough to boot up its start cycle, Ren unlocked it only to be greeted with a flurry of vibrations, all of them notifications of messages coming from one person.

_ 74 missed calls, 30 unread messages – Sumire _

After scrolling through the calls and reading through the messages asking where Ren was, he got to the last text.

Ren-san, is something wrong? – Sumire

He pinched his brow and let out a large breath. He desperately wanted to keep it a secret and say everything was fine, but part of him wanted to tell Sumire everything. He settled on being truthful, but cryptic:

Ren – I’m moving to Tokyo.

…

Wait, what? What happened? – Sumire

And why weren’t you responding to anything? – Sumire

Ren – It’s nothing…

Ren – But I’m going to be in Tokyo. Don’t you live there?

Yes, I do… but it’s not nothing when you don’t reply for 2 weeks straight! – Sumire

Ren had to give her a half-lie for the time being.

Ren – Sorry, a lot’s happened, but I need to move to Tokyo since my parents aren’t gonna be around. I’m transferring schools, too.

Oh, really? – Sumire

What school are you going to? – Sumire

Ren – Not sure. I just know I’m transferring to a different school.

Ren – Anyways, I’m tired from packing up my stuff. I’ll talk to you later. Good night!

Bye, Ren! See you in Tokyo! – Sumire

Ren couldn’t pass up one last opportunity to tease her before he moved.

Ren – Hopefully I’ll get to go out with you more often in Tokyo. ;)

Ren closed his phone without waiting for a reply and just collapsed further in his bed. He grinned at the mental image of Sumire blushing as she sent a flurry of texts telling him to stop, something he confirmed when he heard his phone vibrate for a while. As he let sleep take him over, he heard the faint sound of chains breaking as a voice spoke in the back of his mind.

_I am thou, thou art I._

_Thou hast strengthened an existing bond…_

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_That breaketh thy chains of captivity…_

_With the birth of the **Faith** Persona,_

_Thou hast obtained the winds of blessing_

_That shall lead to freedom and new power…_

_Faith: Rank 1 – Sumire Yoshizawa_

He’d figure out what the hell was going on later.

* * *

The remnants of the Investigation Team gathered around the station to see Ren off. Rise was off on another tour and could only send support through her phone, but gave her support through texts to Yu that he showed to Ren. Naoto was trying to juggle Ren’s case as well as cases flowing into the police department, meaning that she was overloaded with work as is.

As he said his goodbyes, the rest of the Investigation Team dispersed, Yu walking with Ren to the platform.

“Don’t worry. Chie, Naoto, and I will do our best to look into your case and try to get it solved. We’ll see if we can get help from the Shadow Operatives as well.”

“Thanks again, Yu… at least I know I have you guys on my side.” Ren stopped as they reached the middle of the platform. “Looks like this is goodbye…”

Yu put a reassuring hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. If you ever need help, whether it’s with your personas or just with life in general, give me a call.” Yu tried to lighten the mood and smirked, “Wingman offer’s still on the table, though, if you’re up for it.”

Ren laughed a bit, glad to have someone willing to help him like Sumire. “Thanks, Yu. I’ll let you know if I need anything. Well, bye.”

The two hugged for a bit, and Ren felt time freeze around himself as the same voice from last night spoke to him.

_I am thou, thou art I._

_Thou hast acquired a new vow…_

_It shall forge the wings of rebellion_

_That reveal thy hidden truth…_

_With the guidance of the **World** Persona,_

_Thou hast obtained the winds of blessing_

_That shall lead to freedom and greater power…_

_World: Rank 1 – Yu Narukami_

_World’s Legacy – Unlocks a Persona of one who endured their journey to the truth._

There it was again. Hopefully, there would be an explanation for all this later down the line.

The two let go of each other. Ren dashed into the train as a voice blared through the speakers. As he boarded the train, he turned around and gave Yu a large wave before the doors closed. Ren found a seat and looked out the window, leaving his hometown for a frontier that would make or break his future.

* * *

Caroline and Justine were standing in front of the cell their Inmate would appear in. The former was fiddling with her baton, bored out of her mind as she waited for the next visit from the Inmate. Justine, on the other hand, was looking at her clipboard. There was an odd list on the clipboard, and Justine recognized it as a list of personas with specific skills. However, it was written in handwriting that matched neither hers nor Caroline’s. When she tried to remember anyone else in the Velvet Room who could have written it, all she was met with was a block where her memories seemed to cut off and an odd headache.

She shook her head as she began spinning her clipboard again. It was probably nothing.

Igor sat at his desk, an eerily creepy smile on his face. Under his breath, he murmured:

“Finally, all the pieces have fallen into place. Now, let us begin the game…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad i can throw around these chapters but here's a shoutout to a fic i've read a while ago, they shouted me out too so it's only fair.
> 
> TheGangstaGandalf: Royal - https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090436


	6. Lust of the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren learns about life in Tokyo but things that shouldn't happen happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting lazy with these summaries...

Ren snapped awake in his seat, a jolt from the train on the tracks interrupting his nap. Looking around, he didn’t see many people in the car around him. He opened his bag slightly and stuck his hand in, his finger tracing the back of his knife as he allowed the events of only a few weeks ago to settle in.

He didn’t get far, though, since he was interrupted by two schoolgirls gossiping over ‘mental shutdowns’ and talking about some occult stuff. The phone they held between them was playing a video of a pleasant brown-haired boy with brown-red eyes, a teenager by the looks of it.

Ren was snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed the girls’ sudden silence as they stared at him. ‘Crap, was I staring for too long?’ He turned away as he took his hand out of his bag, closing it so no one would see his knife. He looked out the window, the cityscape spreading out as far as he could see. This was Tokyo, his home for the next year… hopefully life would be different here.

As the train pulled into Shibuya Station, Ren pulled out his phone and opened his navigator to find his guardian’s residence. As he walked out of the station and towards the Crossing, a red app overlaid itself on the navigator app already on his screen. Tapping it with no response, Ren looked back up only to find that the Tokyo life around him ground to a halt.

_Is this a prank?_

His doubts were dispelled when he looked towards a water fountain and saw that, like everything around him, it froze in midair and hovered, despite its liquid state. Looking around, it seemed that there was a slight red haze around him, which he couldn’t help but compare to the fog in the TV world. This fog, however, wasn’t affected by his glasses.

A flicker of blue flame caught Ren’s attention as he turned towards the center of the crossing. The flame sparked and stayed before falling to the ground, erupting into a giant pillar, seemingly not harming the people who were engulfed by it. The initial burst dissipated, leaving a familiar red-clad humanoid figure with wings that left Ren speechless. How did it get here, and in reality, nonetheless?

As the figure faded with the red haze, Ren, under his breath, could only utter one word.

“Arsène…?”

* * *

“That’s all we needed to discuss, Yoshizawa-san. I hope to see you two tomorrow here at Shujin Academy.”

With a nod of his head, the principal of Shujin Academy, Principal Kobayakawa, dismissed the twins and their father. The only other faculty member in the office that wasn’t their homeroom teacher, introduced to them as P.E. head coach and volleyball team coach Suguru Kamoshida, gave a pleasant wave and a smile, but both Sumire and Kasumi couldn't shake the feeling that there was something _off_ about how the P.E. coach acted. The twins shared a knowing look as the door closed behind them. Things like his hand lingering too long on a form, a subtle wink here and there. It was disconcerting to see a teacher behave towards them like this.

As the twins walked out the gate, Shinichi spoke up, noticing his daughters' uneasy expressions. Sumire was stroking the stone on the necklace she got during that trip for the meet in Inaba, a nervous tic she developed since then. While he had asked about the necklace before, Sumire's eyes seemed to be happy as she thought about it, before blushing and saying "Nothing!" before running back to her room. He tried asking again, but he unfortunately asked it within earshot of Akane, subjecting Sumire to even more teasing and ultimately making her ignore him whenever he asked. Kasumi refused to give answers too, so it remained a mystery.

However, he had a good idea of who made that necklace special to Sumire.

Shinichi smiled as he drove back home, but unease crossed his mind as he remembered Kasumi wearing the same expression as Sumire, a rarity especially for her.

"What's wrong, girls?" Shinichi looked in the mirror at the two. The deviation from Kasumi's normal happiness worried him, since Kasumi was usually optimistic and cheerful, doing her best to boost Sumire’s mood as well. Whatever was on their minds, it was something serious.

"It's nothing, dad. It's just... we have a bad feeling that something might happen. We'll let you and mom know if anything happens." Kasumi shook off her expression and stared out of the window. Like Sumire, she was fidgeting with her necklace, but let it go as she instead restlessly tapped her finger on her leg.

The rest of the ride was silent while worry filled Shinichi's head. Shujin was a good school according to the research he had done. Hopefully that bad feeling wouldn't come true.

* * *

'What's Arsène doing here?'

Ren's mind raced as the surroundings returned to normal. He got some odd looks while he stared at where Arsène manifested. Shaking off his confusion, he looked back towards his phone, where the odd app sat in the center of his screen.

'This app seems to be related to Arsène in some way. I'll hold onto it for now, just in case I need him...'

Switching back to his navigation app, he typed out the address of his probationary guardian's house and walked into the subway. He saw an aojiru stand and a display showing multiple advertisements, one of which made Ren freeze in place.

‘Rise…’ Ren allowed himself to wear a warm smile as he reminisced on his time with the Investigation Team. Unfortunately, these memories only served to bring back a surge of more unpleasant memories from his time in Inaba after his arrest.

The disdainful looks he got when he went shopping anywhere other than Maryuku Tofu or Tatsumi Textiles.

The back-alley shopping he had to do when he needed something from Junes courtesy of Yosuke so that the customers wouldn’t burn their glares into his back.

He couldn’t even relax at the Amagi Inn’s hot springs despite Yukiko’s efforts due to the constant rumormongers spreading Ren’s false record around.

As the bad memories from the people in Inaba continued to flood his mind, his smile slowly turned into an angry scowl. Ren clenched his fist as he looked down, trying to hold in his anger at the treatment he received in Inaba. Suddenly, he snapped out of his daze and noticed that the people in the subway were giving him a wide berth as they shot him confused or concerned looks. With a dismissive wave and a forced smile, Ren powerwalked to his station, looking at his phone before he broke into a sprint to try to catch the train to Yongen.

Managing to squeeze into the already packed train, Ren temporarily exited the navigator app to take a look at the odd app again. It was red with a black eye in the middle, with black rays drawn from the eye to the edges of the icon. The iris of the eye was replaced with a black star, and looking closely, he thought he could see the app pulse, distorting the screen around it. He blinked to make sure he was seeing it correctly, but as suddenly as he noticed it, it was gone.

“Yongen-Jaya. We are approaching Yongen-Jaya.”

Ren’s head shot up. They were already there? He pocketed his phone and prepared to leave the soon-to-be-familiar sardine can he knew as Tokyo’s subway system. Walking out of the station, Ren reopened his navigator app and began the walk to Café Leblanc.

* * *

Kasumi and Sumire shared a look as they got out of the car. They needed to discuss that teacher ASAP.

After some hurried greetings from the both of them as they entered the door, they changed into comfortable clothes before Kasumi rushed to Sumire’s room, sitting on Sumire’s desk chair while Sumire closed the door behind them, a small click letting the two know that the door was locked. Taking a seat on the bed, Sumire began:

“So… about that PE teacher… Kamo-something wasn’t it?”

“Kamoshida. He was really creepy, wasn’t he?” Kasumi nodded as she started thinking.

“He seemed nice enough, but…” Sumire trailed off since she didn’t know how to phrase what was on her mind. Kasumi picked up on what she meant, however, and got up to hold Sumire's hand comfortingly. Thanks to sending some discreet texts to Ren after getting his chat ID from Sumire’s phone, Kasumi had a better idea on how to help calm down Sumire.

“It’s ok, Sumire. While we’re at school, let’s keep in touch. If anything happens with Kamoshida we’ll try to contact each other. Ok?”

Sumire gave a quick nod. At least they had a safety net in each other. The extra layer of security gave them both a feeling of relief.

Suddenly, Sumire jumped as her phone buzzed. She was so on edge that she let out a small “eep!” which she couldn’t hide from Kasumi, who only tilted her head in curiosity. Pulling out her phone, Sumire read the text before blushing slightly. Kasumi got up and tilted the phone screen so she could see, and wore her mischievous smirk.

The notification was a text from Ren.

Ren – I reached Tokyo. Wanna meet up next Sunday?

“Going on a date with your boyfriend soon?”

Sumire’s blush deepened as she simply pushed Kasumi towards the door, unlocking it before pushing her sister out. Sumire locked herself in and ran into her bed, screaming into her pillow. After she felt the heat leave her face, she left her room and tried to tune out Kasumi’s and her mother’s teasing, heading to the kitchen to prepare their dinner for after practice today. She pouted whenever Kasumi or her mother began teasing her, but inwardly, she couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that she would finally meet Ren after so long.

* * *

Ren took in the attic around him as he pushed his box of stuff into the shelving unit by the stairs. Wiping off the sweat from his brow, he let out a sigh as he pulled out his phone.

It was late afternoon.

Sitting on the somewhat-clean couch, Ren opened his IMs to send a message:

Ren – I reached Tokyo. Wanna meet up next Sunday?

Ren stared at his screen and waited a bit before pocketing his phone. He’d grab his clothes and go to the bathhouse he saw across the alleyway before he got back. Reopening his box of stuff, he started rifling through it for a towel and some toiletries before heading down. Sojiro, his guardian, interrupted him on his way out.

“I heard a bunch of noise upstairs. What were you doing up there? And don’t track dust all over the café!” Sojiro had one eyebrow raised as he looked at Ren.

“I finished cleaning up the attic. Mind if I head to that bathhouse nearby?” Ren really didn’t want to get on his bad side so soon after meeting him.

“Yeah. You know where it is kid?”

“Take a left, by the laundromat, right? Yeah. Be back in a bit!”

Ren left the café with his things in tow, the bell jingling as the door shut. As he went down the short hallway with the laundromat and the bathhouse, he noticed a sign by the door, opposite the laundromat window.

‘Medicinal baths every Sunday, huh… seems like something I should take advantage of every now and then…’

Going in, Ren began getting ready to bathe, pulling out his phone to check for anything new. Seeing nothing of interest, Ren put his phone in a cubby, put away his clothes and went in with his stuff.

After the door closed, his phone buzzed with a text from Sumire.

That sounds good. Where do you want to meet? – Sumire

…

‘Whew, that was a good bath. Could do without all the extra hot water though…’ Ren dried off as he grabbed his clothes. Thanks to the old man constantly adding more hot water, the bath was so hot he still had steam coming off of his torso.

Throwing on his clothes, Ren grabbed his phone and other stuff and rushed out of the bathhouse. He pulled out his phone to check the time and saw Sumire’s text.

‘Looks like I have some time. I’ll look around Yongen a bit before I head back to the café. First things first, though…’

Ren smiled as his fingers flew across his phone’s screen to send a response. He quickly headed out the door to get a feel for the neighborhood around what would be his home for the next year.

* * *

“All right, girls! That’s a wrap!”

Kasumi and Sumire finished the last bits of their routines as they stood straight, bowing to Coach Hiraguchi before relaxing their shoulders. Ever since Ren and Sumire began texting regularly, Sumire gained more confidence in herself and her routine, and she quickly grew to be on par with Kasumi. Kasumi, on the other hand, seemed to be slowing down, barely improving anymore despite her ambition and impressive pace from when she began gymnastics.

“Good work girls. Sumire, you’ve been improving a lot lately, especially today. You never gave me a reason or a definite thing that sparked this growth, though. Are you _sure_ it’s nothing?”

Sumire began blushing, both in frustration that she was going to be teased again and in embarrassment that she was thinking about Ren.

“YES!”

Practically everyone in the gym turned their heads towards Sumire, Hiraguchi only raising an eyebrow as Kasumi stifled a laugh.

Ok, that might have been a bit too loud.

While Sumire looked like she wanted to hide in her gym bag, Hiraguchi turned to Kasumi.

“As for you, Kasumi, you’re starting to hit a wall. Right now, I’m not seeing the confident Kasumi I saw when you started doing gymnastics. I understand your personal rivalry with Sumire, but you don’t need to do this to get better. Try to remember what defines you before you go on with your rivalry, since at this rate, even Sumire will beat you out.”

Kasumi could only look down at her feet. She was starting to get this type of feedback more often, and she felt she knew why.

“Ok, Coach. I’ll try.”

“Go and change. Good work today, you two.”

One quick bow later, the twins went into the changing rooms, Sumire slamming the door behind her so no one would talk to her about her outburst. Kasumi pulled out her phone while she changed, hoping that she wouldn’t have to worry about life in Shujin despite the fact that Kamoshida was seemingly determined to prove otherwise.

After changing and putting away her stuff, Kasumi opened her door to see Sumire waiting on a nearby bench, texting someone. Kasumi saw the opportunity to prank Sumire, so she snuck up behind Sumire.

“Konnichi…”

Kasumi paused right before she startled Sumire, noticing who Sumire was texting. She stifled another laugh as she looked at the exchange between the two.

Sorry, I was still in gymnastics. Sounds good! I’ll see if I can get time. – Sumire

Ren – Great! Can’t wait to see you after so long!

Same here! See you on Sunday! – Sumire

Ren – Lucky me! It’s a date. ;)

E-eh?! A d-date?! – Sumire

Sumire’s deep blush began showing itself, and Kasumi capitalized on it.

“WAH!”

“Wha-!” Sumire jumped as her phone slipped out of her hands. Sumire’s surprised expression immediately became a pout when she turned around.

“Kasumi! Don’t do that!”

“Flirting with your boyfriend? My little sis is growing up so fast!”

Sumire sputtered as she kept trying to produce a response, the only noise between the two being the chimes from Sumire’s phone from Ren’s texts.

“I’m only talking with Ren… and he’s not my boyfriend!”

Kasumi smirked. “Well I’m not the one going on a date with him on Sunday~…”

Sumire only grew redder until she froze.

“Sumire? Hey, Sumire?” Kasumi waved her hand in front of her sister, who was unresponsive.

No response.

Kasumi sighed as she took Sumire’s phone from her hand. She should probably tell Ren that Sumire shut down again.

…and maybe see how far their flirting and texting went.

* * *

Ren re-entered the café and noticed Sojiro looking slightly busy. After saying hi, Ren headed upstairs to put away his belongings when he saw a message from Kasumi from Sumire’s phone, and chuckled lightly when he read the message.

Hey Ren, Sumire won’t be able to text for a while… – Sumire

Ren – What are you doing on Sumire’s phone again, Kasumi? Lemme guess, she shut down again?

You’re getting better at guessing what happened, Ren-san. – Sumire

Ren – If it wasn’t obvious enough, I’m assuming you teased her until she broke, huh?

… – Sumire

Ren – It’s fine. If you wanna come with Sumire when we meet up, you can. It’s been a while since I’ve met you two.

Putting his phone away, Ren came downstairs to get a green apron thrown in his chest. Looking up, he saw Sojiro looking at him with an impassive expression.

“If you’re gonna live here for the next year, kid, I might as well have you help out around here every now and then. An extra pair of hands couldn’t hurt.”

Ren shrugged as he put the apron over his head. After going behind the counter, Ren got a lesson from Sojiro on where each ingredient was, as well as the locations of cleaning supplies and the particular types of coffee beans to be careful around. He assured Ren that he would eventually teach him how to brew Leblanc coffee, but it was getting late, so he just served Ren some coffee and curry before heading out.

“Hey kid.”

“Yeah, Sojiro?”

“I’ll leave it to you to lock up every night. Remember, if I see something gone or out of place, you’re out.”

  
  
“Got it.” Ren got back to eating the delicious curry as the bell jingled with a click coming from the door.

After washing up and heading to his room, he took a look at what he had available.

‘So, I have an empty shelf here, there’s still some crap in that corner that I can take care of, the desk might need some work…’

Ren’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by the ringing of a phone downstairs. Curiously, he went down and saw the yellow phone ringing loudly. He picked up.

“Hey kid.”

“Sojiro?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I forgot to flip the sign to ‘Closed’ when I left. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure. One question, though.”

  
  
“What is it?”

“Why’d you call the public phone? You have my phone number, don’t you?”

“It’s a personal policy of mine to not save guys’ numbers on my phone. Night kid.”

“Ni-“ The dial tone signaled that Sojiro hung up, so Ren put the phone back. Opening the door, Ren reached around and flipped the sign, then went back up and changed into his loungewear. He’d take care of the mess later.

Ren sat in his bed while he looked over the room one more time.

‘Hey, I could probably use that support beam for some training. Seems sturdy enough. Looks like there’s a heater there for the winter, and…’ Ren’s eyes fell on his bag. ‘I should probably wear my glasses from now on. Might make me look more unassuming.’

Ren pulled out his phone one last time to set an alarm. ‘I need to wake up early to meet with the principal of my new school tomorrow. Don’t know where I’m going yet, but hopefully the rumors don’t spread like in Yasogami.’

* * *

Ren and Sojiro walked up to the gates of Shujin Academy, its black iron gates contrasting with the dull white buildings that made up the campus. In his opinion, the name was an uncanny fit: there was only one entrance and the buildings were bland and undetailed; replace the glass with bars and it would look like a prison- wait, what?

Through Ren’s glasses, the school seemed to flicker between its normal appearance and a medieval-style building with a purple haze surrounding it. Walking past the gates, Ren felt an odd weight on his shoulders before he stopped, a light migraine stopping him in his tracks as he held his head gingerly.

“Kid, you okay?”

Ren looked up to see Sojiro looking at him with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep or something.”

Ren entered the school building and followed Sojiro to the principal’s office. However, the nagging feeling Ren had in the back of his mind didn’t go away. Focusing through his glasses seemed to make the medieval building flicker into his vision more often, but he passed through every part of the illusory building. He’d have to ask Yu about this when he gets the chance.

…

After a long lecture on the importance of not being expelled from a blob of a man this school called the principal, Ren was introduced to his homeroom teacher, Ms. Kawakami, and was given his student ID with a picture of him with his glasses mostly obscuring his eyes. There was an odd frilly pink flyer under it, but Kawakami immediately took it back and shoved it into her pocket.

The principal began launching himself into another diatribe on his reputation and the school’s reputation, and Ren was about to tune out the rest of the lecture.

“Unfortunately, it appears your criminal record was leaked.”

Ren’s attention suddenly shot to the principal, who was obliviously continuing without looking directly at him.

“We weren’t able to trace the leak, so…” The principal waved off the issue as he simply said “We’re looking into it, but we can’t expect anything to come from it.”

Sojiro interjected, “Are we done here? I have a store to run.”

The principal nodded eagerly and said, “Of course, Mr. Sakura! As for his circumstances…”

“I’ll make sure to have another talk with him on the importance of his situation. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Sojiro tugged Ren’s sleeve as he tipped his fedora, Ren offering a slight bow before the two entered the foyer of the school.

“Sheesh, even here your criminal record is already common knowledge… Just keep your head down and stay out of trouble. If you get kicked out of school, I’m kicking you to the curb too. Got it?” Sojiro’s expression was stern as he looked at Ren.

“Heard. I can probably manage a year without trouble. Hopefully the faculty doesn’t end up stirring up trouble _for_ me.”

The two got in the car and prepared for a long ride back.

* * *

Ren looked at himself in his Shujin uniform. He was wearing a black blazer with red buttons and the Shujin emblem on his left chest, a pin with a “2” engraved into it on his collar. Under his blazer was a white turtleneck with 2 small black chevrons pointing upward on the neck. The uniform pants were plaid, a black background with white lines and red scattered throughout the design. It looked good enough, and was comfortable to wear.

As he came down, he was greeted with a mostly empty café, the only occupants in the café being Sojiro, himself, and a customer who wore gray half-framed glasses, a striped dress shirt under a tan suit, and had neatly combed graying brown hair. Sojiro wordlessly motioned to the plate of coffee and curry on the counter, which Ren ate with gusto.

“Who’s this, Boss?”

“A part-timer. Always helpful to have more hands around the place, plus a… change in circumstances meant that he had no place to stay for school. So, I took him in.”

Ren was grateful that Sojiro, at the least, didn’t reveal his past for both their sakes.

“He goes to Shujin, correct? My daughters go there as well. They’re going in as honors students on scholarship.”

“Oh? That’s interesting. Maybe they’ll hit it off sometime.” Sojiro had a slightly smug knowing look on his face as he looked at Ren, who was polishing off the last of his curry and coffee.

“Well, kid, door’s that way. I’ll take care of the dishes, just get to school on time.”

“Got it, Sojiro. Have a good day to you both.” Ren looked over his shoulder and waved with a small smile.

“Thank you…” The customer trailed off.

“Ren. Amamiya Ren.”

The customer’s eyebrows scrunched slightly in confusion as Ren turned around and left the café. He headed straight towards the station as the TV switched to the weather report.

_“There will be a high likelihood of rain today, from this morning to midday.”_

“Shoot, did he bring an umbrella…?” Sojiro muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something, Boss?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Well, I should be off to work. Thanks for the meal; it was delicious. I think I found my go-to café now.” The customer gave a warm smile as he got up and picked up his stuff, leaving his payment and a generous tip on the table.

“Good to know, Mr…”

“Yoshizawa. Yoshizawa Shinichi.”

* * *

“Whew…”

Ren extricated himself from the packed subway car as he stumbled towards the stairs. That was something he would definitely need to get used to for the coming year.

As Ren left the subway, he began walking along the road to school, only to feel a sudden drop of water fall on his frizzy hair.

“Huh-“

Without warning, one drop turned into two, which turned into twenty, which turned into a downpour of rain. Holding his schoolbag over his head, he ran straight to an awning where there was another Shujin student wearing a white hoodie with a green clover on the hood and red tights. She took off her hood to reveal oddly pale skin, sky-blue eyes, and silver-blonde hair tied up into two messy pigtails.

‘A foreigner?’

Ren pulled out his phone to look at his navigator app to check the remaining to the school before the girl spoke up.

“Oh…”

Ren only looked to her, to which she reached up and plucked off a cherry blossom petal that got caught in his hair.

“Thanks.” Ren shot her a quick smile before turning back to his phone. If he ran, he would get there in 5 minutes, but he risked getting drowned on the sidewalk…

A white sedan pulled up and the window rolled down. The driver, a man with a shovel-chin and a mop of black hair wearing a blue tracksuit, leaned over the transmission and called out to the girl.

“Hey, Takamaki! Need a ride? Wouldn’t want you to be late!”

“O-o-ok…” The girl flipped her hood back over her head and rushed to the car, an oddly sad look on her face. Ren tried to speak up, but his words were caught in his throat as he only lifted his hand slightly before the door closed. The driver turned toward him.

“How about you? Do you need a ride?”

While the offer was inviting, Ren felt an odd hostility under the cheery tone the man offered.

“N-no, I’m fine.” Ren waved off the offer as the man seemed to relax, releasing some unseen tension as he gave a friendly reminder.

“Suit yourself. Just don’t be late.” The window rolled up as he drove off, the girl named Takamaki in tow. Now satisfied with the information he got from his navigator, he tapped out as a boy, clearly another Shujin student, came running up panting.

“Dammit, that asshole! I…” The vulgar boy caught his breath before noticing Ren next to him.

“What’s wrong? Gonna rat me out to Kamoshida?” The boy got in his face, and was plenty intimidating at first glance. He had short blonde hair which was obviously dyed, wore the Shujin blazer unbuttoned with a yellow graphic tee that had “ZOMG!” printed on it. His suspenders were down to his legs instead of over his shoulders, and wore his uniform pants slightly rolled up to the ankles. He was heavily favoring one leg, though, and he approached with a visible limp.

Unconsciously, Ren’s thumb brushed the odd red app that was sitting on his phone, activating it as he backed away slightly.

“Kamoshida? Was that the man in the car?”

His phone buzzed as Kamoshida was typed out on the app. _Candidate found._

The boy’s expression immediately morphed from hostile to nonplussed. “Wait, you don’t know who Kamoshida is? You go to Shujin, right?”

Ren relaxed as the boy’s tone calmed down. “Yeah, I go to Shujin. I only just transferred, though.”

Shujin Academy was typed out on the app as it buzzed again. _Location found._

“Oh, you’re a transfer. No wonder you haven’t heard of him. Long story short, he’s a pervert teacher at Shujin. Bastard thinks of the entire school like his own castle.”

Ren felt his phone buzz again. ‘Who the hell am I getting texts from right now?’ He looked at his phone screen only to see the last two entries get typed out.

Pervert. Castle. _Distortion found. Beginning Navigation._

“Navi- wha?!”

A sudden migraine overtook the two boys at once. Ren looked around and then back at his phone screen, shaking off the pain. Nothing changed, so he just pocketed his phone and said, “We need to get to school now or we’re gonna be late.”

“Oh yeah, school. Follow me, I know a shortcut.” The boy waved over as they walked into an alleyway. Ren stepped into a puddle, the splash hovering in midair longer than it should have. When he turned around to look at it though, the puddle remained undisturbed without any floating water.

‘Weird.’

Ren broke into a light jog to catch up with the boy, who was approaching a corner.

“Around this corner should be the school. Ready for your first day, transfer?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Ren shrugged as he shook off the dampness from his hair. Looks like the rain stopped.

“Aaaaaaand here we ar-THE EFF?!” The boy did a double take as Ren turned the corner, who reacted exactly the same as the boy.

Standing before the two Shujin students was the castle Ren saw flicker into existence every now and then just yesterday, sitting where the school should have been as if it was always there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the slow chapter release, but since school started I have a lot more on my plate. No more fast chapters, and updates will be more inconsistent, but this fic will not be dropped until I do. Chapter was not beta read by Dev0ted as he is on a well-deserved break, but instead I have 2 people giving me opinions on the chapter. If you see any issues tell me in the comments and I'll make sure to fix them!
> 
> Shoutout to a fic I like but don't see much mention of:  
> AkaneMinori: Life Will Change https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846847
> 
> Thanks to the following for beta reading this chapter!  
> MushroomFusion245: Phantom Memories https://archiveofourown.org/works/26003371 or https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13676133/1/Phantom-Memories  
> Sumire (tohruhonda on AO3): The Falling Petals https://archiveofourown.org/works/24808804/chapters/60000997 (Not shusumi but well-written)
> 
> Special shoutout to my friend SolvableIllusion, he's a fic writer too but for the Ori and the Blind Forest fandom. Check out his work!  
> SolvableIllusion: Wings for the Dove https://archiveofourown.org/works/23685253


	7. I Will Rebel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cam someone tell me whether I need to put stuff here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.
> 
> My muse told me to write.
> 
> Have 7.4k words of my fic.
> 
> Hopefully i can focus on school now.
> 
> Probably releasing a chapter of PM next but idk.

“Wh-“

Ren stood frozen in front of the castle in front of him. Why was this here? What happened to the school?

The blonde boy in front of him recovered first, looking behind him to see Ren still somewhat shocked.

“Hey, transfer. Let’s go in. Maybe we can find out what the eff happened to our school.”

As they walked into the castle, the world warped slightly through Ren’s glasses, and he saw himself walking up the steps into the actual Shujin building before it reverted back to the castle around him.

‘These glasses must have something to do with what’s going on right now,’ Ren thought. It was definitely similar to the tv world too, since he could feel Arsène within him, but oddly, he couldn’t seem to summon Arsène like usual.

Ren held the boy back by the shoulder when they ran into what looked like a knight with a turquoise-green mask, a large broadsword and a reinforced shield.

“Dude, be careful. That’s dangerous.”

“Who, him?” The boy pointed to the knight with his thumb. “Prolly just a student or somethin’, I’ll see if I can learn what the eff is goin’ on.”

“ **Don’t.** ” Ren’s voice was tense. Whoever this boy was, he didn’t seem to understand the danger of the situation. However, all they succeeded in doing was drawing more attention to themselves as more guards appeared, encircling the two.

“Crap, oh crap! Let’s run, dude!” The blonde backpedaled and grabbed the collar of Ren’s blazer, colliding headfirst into a shield. Ren heard clanking steps behind him, and turned around just in time to see a shield slam directly onto his forehead.

The world was dyed black as the ringing of metal echoed in his ears.

* * *

“Hey.”

Some shaking.

“Wake up, man.”

Some more shaking.

Ren opened his eyes to see a foggy head of blonde hair.

“Mornin’ dude. You were out like a light.” Ren’s vision cleared up to see the blonde boy hunched over, a little too close for comfort.

“Hey… mind backing up a bit so I can get up?” Ren was barely able to mumble; his head felt like it was filled with cement.

“Shit, my bad.”

“Thanks- ugh…” Ren got up only to be hit with a wave of dizziness. He held his head up with an arm, gingerly touching the bruise on his head. He probably had a light concussion, and judging from how the blonde boy was staggering around, he was in the same boat.

Ren took in his surroundings. He was on a wooden platform chained to the wall like a standard prison bed. The walls were made of stone bricks that were growing moss and other plant life, and there was a damp smell that permeated the cell. One wall was entirely replaced with iron bars and a door, which had an oddly large keyhole. Barrels and crates were stacked in opposite corners of the room.

‘Maybe I can pick it with what I have right now…’ Ren’s mind raced as he tried to look around for his stuff, but his vision blurred. “Hey, where’s my stuff?”

The boy backed up slightly, wide-eyed. “How the hell are you so calm about this? We’re in this weird effin’ castle, and all you can-” A scream of pain echoed through the corridor as the boy’s eyes somehow shot wider than they were already. “Holy shit… we gotta get outta here!”

Ren shot the boy a dry look. “That’s why I need my bag. And believe me, I’ve been through weirder stuff.”

He heard some shuffling as a Shujin bag was held towards him. “Here. They didn’t bother takin’ our bags when they locked us up here.”

Ren opened it and pulled out two disposable pens, which he immediately disassembled. He took the pen cores and stuck them into the lock, and fidgeted with them until he heard some of the pins disengage.

“Hey, ain’t you supposed to do that with paper clips or somethin’?” The blonde boy clearly didn’t know how lockpicking worked, and didn’t seem to realize that it was ok to use these for a lock this big.

“I would if I had any…” Ren complained through his teeth as he messed with the lock a bit more, a soft clank notifying Ren that the door’s lock was disengaged.

“Come on…” Ren trailed off as he reassembled the pens and put them back in his schoolbag. He never caught the boy’s name, so he was prepared to ask.

“Ah, right, I’m Sakamoto Ryuji. You?” The blonde scratched the back of his head as he grabbed his bag.

“Amamiya Ren. Just use my first name. We’re already stuck between a rock and a hard place here; we have no time to worry about formalities.”

“Same here then.”

“Come on, let’s go. Be quiet.” Ren motioned to Ryuji to follow him, silently closing the cell door behind him and closing it. They dashed through the corridor, seeing more empty cells and hearing more pained screams echo around them.

As they reached a corner, they prepared to turn before they were cut off by a guard.

“Woah!” Ren stopped before holding a protective arm in front of Ryuji. “Stay behind me. This is dangerous.” Ren looked behind him and ordered Ryuji under his breath.

As the Shadow guard approached the two, Ren saw 3 figures cut off their escape. Two were also Shadow guards with spears instead of swords, while one was a tall figure whose face remained obscured by some darkness, the only visible feature being some piercing golden eyes.

‘A Shadow self? Whose is it? It doesn’t look like me or Ryuji…’ Ren backed up further, pushing Ryuji back to protect him from the new guards.

“Well, well, well. I thought my guards had already locked you up, but looks like these rats need some _special_ attention.” The figure walked forward, tailed by the guards next to him. Behind him, Ryuji audibly gasped.

“I thought a parent or someone of the sort came into my castle to speak with me, but to think it was you, Sakamoto. You even brought a friend to shield yourself this time. Ever the coward.”

“Kamoshida… you sick bastard! What the hell is going on?!”

Ren was gawking at the Shadow of Kamoshida standing in front of him. The mophead was wearing a hot pink robe with white fur trim, lighter pink hearts scattered over the surface of the robe. A crown sat on top of his head, and when he moved his arm Ren could see that Kamoshida was naked save a bright pink speedo.

“It seems you don’t understand what happens when you break into my castle and do whatever you want,” Shadow Kamoshida began. “For your insolence and for insulting me, the king! Your penalty shall be death. Guards!”

The 3 guards proceeded to further corner Ren and Ryuji as the two were pushed further and further into a corner. Suddenly, one of their shields bashed Ren, knocking him to the side as the other two guards held Ryuji in place with their spears.

“Now, let’s begin the execution!”

**“And who said you could decide that?”**

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice, which was Ren. His glasses were sitting on the ground, miraculously undamaged as he stood, feet firmly planted on the ground. His fists were clenched and his eyes glared with an intensity that made Shadow Kamoshida and Ryuji tremble. Ren’s normal baritone was replaced with something else, something more evil and demonic. His emotions were laced deeply into his words, a seething anger bubbling behind his gritted teeth.

**“Honestly, you’re pathetic. You think you have the _right_ to decide the lives of others?”**

Ren’s stance changed into a more combative pose, continuing without allowing anyone else to interject. **“The only right you have is to reveal the truth of who you are; scum of the earth like you hide behind the lies you create. Let’s see how well you fare without them.”**

His expression morphed from restrained hate to a cocky smirk. **“Come at me!”**

Suddenly, Ren’s eyes flashed the golden yellow of Shadow Kamoshida’s eyes before glowing an azure blue. A sudden gust surged outward from Ren as his tarot card appeared, slightly cracked. Suddenly, Arsène's voice reverberated in his head, this time not accompanied by a migraine.

**_Will you rebel against the ones who oppress you so?_ **

****

“You already know my answer… I will rebel!”

**_Very well… Vow to me once more, to rebel against the society that imprisoned you!_ **

****

**_I am thou, thou art I…_ **

**_Thou who hast once endeavored for the truth,_ **

**_Strengthen thy former vow to thyself…_ **

****

**_Thou shalt rebel against the masses that restrain thy will,_ **

**_Heedless of consequence lest thou be chained to Hell itself!_ **

****

**_Now… Call upon my name once more,_ **

**_Release thy rage, and demonstrate to all who dare oppose you_ **

**_The strength of our resolve!_ **

“ARSÈNE!”

Ren shattered the tarot in front of him with an upward swipe, a blue aura emanating outward as the shards of the tarot fell. As the two came into contact, they burst into blue flames that spiraled towards Ren, engulfing him. The flames closer to the ground began moving upwards, licking at Ren’s clothes and changing them.

Ren’s Shujin uniform was changed to a black three-tailed and broad-collared duster coat that went down to his ankles, with a gray suit vest and black pants as well as pointed-toed boots. His hands were engulfed before revealing crimson gloves.

The flames then proceeded to coalesce behind Ren, forming into Arsène's familiar figure before solidifying. The pressure exuded from Ren was as intense as his glare, now directed solely at Kamoshida.

“What’s wrong? Scared?”

The guards immediately focused their attention on Ren, allowing Ryuji to push himself further into the wall as he watched the guards convulse before bursting into black and red matter from their masks. The matter puddled on the ground before forming into odd creatures; there were carved pumpkins with wizard hats and robes holding a lantern as well as small brown-haired girls wearing navy blue leotards, knee-high boots, elbow-length gloves, and fairy wings. Shadow Kamoshida took the opportunity to escape in the other direction, leaving his guards to take care of Ren.

Arsène began to disintegrate back into blue flame as it flew across Ren’s eyes, forming a birdlike domino mask with black accents around his eyes. Ren produced a knife from his right sleeve before swiping it in front of him, pointing it at the center of the group. His smirk only grew bigger as he said two words before charging in:

“It’s Showtime.”

* * *

The pumpkin shadows held up their lanterns before sending a fireball straight towards Ren, the fairy shadows holding their hands out before sending out crackling electricity in the same direction.

Ren simply mouthed “Pathetic” as he cut through the fireballs before diving forwards out of the way of the lightning that fell where he was just a moment ago.

“Now, Arsène! Eiha!” Ren pulled off his mask, Arsène materializing before shooting out cursed energy at one of the fairies. It screamed in agony as it dissolved, Ren taking the opportunity to deliver a spinning outward slash towards all the pumpkin shadows. They recoiled as they attempted to strike back, Ren backflipping out of the way before Arsène flew in and impaled two of them on the heel of its shoe. The hit shadows burst into black dust before disintegrating, no trace of their existence remaining.

The remaining fairy held a hand out towards its only remaining ally as green energy collected itself around the pumpkin shadow, restoring its health as it floated and sent out a stronger fireball at Arsène. The attack struck, Ren clutching his head slightly as Arsène recoiled from the blow. They were barraged with some bolts of lighting and balls of fire before Ren recalled Arsène into his mask.

Blue flames and cursed energy began to trail off of the right edge of his mask and around his arm before enveloping the knife he was holding. Ren felt the energy imbue the knife with more power before feeling its shape change, and looking down, he held a gold-capped black cane that seemed to be flickering with power. He felt Arsène resonate as he flourished the cane before lunging towards the last fairy shadow, the cane cutting through it like butter before Ren turned his attention to the last shadow. The energy around Ren’s knife/cane dissipated as it reformed into the knife, Ren spinning it on his finger before holding it gingerly by the blade, primed to throw.

“Checkmate.”

The knife flew towards the pumpkin, spinning along the direction it was headed before impaling it and pushing it back. The shadow was unable to resist the push as it was suddenly pinned against the wall, and with a snap of Ren’s fingers, it dissolved just like its allies.

Arsène cackled as Ren walked towards the wall he threw his knife towards, dissolving into Ren’s mask and reappearing on his face. As Ren dislodged his knife, he turned around to see a shell-shocked Ryuji who stood, mouth agape, staring at Ren.

“Dude, what was that?! You effin’ killed all those things like a badass!”

“I’ll explain later. For now, we need to get out of here.”

“Lead the way.”

Ryuji picked up his stuff before running after Ren. The both of them dashed through more hallways lined with cells before they heard a light boyish voice.

“Hey! You two! Blondie and Frizzy Hair!”

Ren looked towards the cell it came from, seeing a small cat-like figure shaking the bars of its cell. He was able to feel a persona from whatever it was, and seeing as it was locked up, it was probably friendly.

“That thing feels similar to Teddie, but not…” Ren thought absent-mindedly as he walked over to the cell and crouched down.

“Lemme guess, need to get out?”

“Yeah! The keys are over there!”

As Ren got up to grab the keys, Ryuji caught up, panting as he saw Ren begin to open a cell with the catlike creature.

“Wait, dude! What’re you doing?! That cat thing could be an enemy too!”

“I’M NOT A CAT! And I’m not your enemy! The Shadows locked me up here!” The cat?-like thing jumped with an angry expression.

“Ryuji, calm down. We can definitely trust ‘em.” Ren put a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder, firm but unwilling to let him protest.

As Ren took the keys and unlocked the cell, the cat-like thing bounced out and stretched, a relieved expression on its face.

“Ahh, freedom feels so great…”

“Hey, do you have a name? I have no clue what you are, and no idea on how to refer to you.” Ren crouched down again, looking it in the eye.

“The name’s Morgana. From the looks of it, you’re a Persona-user?”

Ren smirked as he shot back, “Found me out, huh? I’m guessing you’re one too, huh?”

“Yup.”

Ryuji butted in, snapping the two out of their conversation. “Hey, uh… Hate to break it to you, but we got some of those things on our tail. We gotta split before they catch up!”

“Or we can fend them off. I’m interested to see how strong Morgana is before we get out of here.” Ren shot Ryuji a smirk as he motioned to hide behind cover.

The three hid behind barrels as two guards stopped to talk to each other in the middle of the hallway. Morgana whispered to Ren, seemingly prepared to rush out and strike.

“Hey, frizzy.”

“Ren.”

“Sorry. Ren. You seem to know about combat, but it’ll be easier on us if we get the preemptive strike.”

“An ambush, right? I’m trying to figure out how to ambush these guys. Just attacking them from behind doesn’t seem to be the option like before…”

“Before? Wait, that doesn’t matter right now, but you’re right. If you want to ambush them, you’ll want to tear off or break their mask to sever the Palace ruler’s control over them. Then you can get the first strike!”

“On 3, then. I’ll tear it off, you tear off or break the mask. Your call.”

“1…”

“2…”

The pair pounced on the guards simultaneously.

“3!”

Ren gripped the mask at the chin, tearing it off while yelling out “Show me your true form!” before jumping off the convulsing Shadow. Morgana pulled out a scimitar his size, slicing the mask in half while similarly calling out “You can’t escape this!” The two stood opposite each other around the dissolving guards as 2 fairy shadows, 2 pumpkin shadows, and a pink demon with a… pronounced horned implement rose up from the puddle that they left behind.

“Morgana, show your skills! I’ll take care of as many as I can!”

“Right. Zorro! Show your might!”

With a jumping spin and a backflip, blue flames spiraled around Morgana as they created a formless blob, which quickly reshaped itself to a masked fencer in black, with a puffed-up chest and strong arms despite its spindly legs. It made 3 quick slashes in a ‘Z’ formation, before it glowed green. Each slash became a blade of wind, colliding with one of the pumpkin enemies and sending it flying into a wall.

Before the shadow even landed, Morgana had Zorro send another wind spell at the other pumpkin shadow as he pulled out a slingshot, a well-placed pellet piercing through the first shadow’s cloak and head before it dissolved.

Meanwhile, Ren had already removed his mask, Arsène holding onto one of the fairy shadows as cursed energy gathered in the same hand.

“Now, Arsène!”

Arsène’s grip tightened as the cursed energy enveloped the shadow before flying towards Ren’s knife, the shadow dissolving as Arsène turned its attention to the second pumpkin shadow.

The spell Arsène sent towards Ren wrapped around its blade before hardening slightly, Ren swinging it like a longsword and cleaving the pink demon shadow in half. It tried to let out a scream that was choked out by Ren slamming the blade into the ground, sending a shockwave of the cursed energy that all but obliterated what remained of the shadow, killing the last fairy shadow with the collateral damage. Arsène came back, having stomped away the remnants of the last pumpkin’s health before Morgana could fire his slingshot off again.

As the exhilaration of the battle died down, Morgana approached Ren with shock.

“Woah, you’re a lot stronger than I expected. What was with that fighting style?”

“I don’t know. When I awoke, it felt _natural_ to just do that. It’s made me stronger even when my persona is weaker than my strength would suggest.”

“Huh,” Morgana shrugged. “I felt that you had something special about yourself and what you just did confirmed it, but I can’t say anything for sure just yet. Let’s get out of here, and we can talk later.”

“Agreed.”

After some navigating through hallways and stairways, they reached a vent shaft that led directly to the outside of the castle.

Ryuji clambered out of the vent shaft, Ren staying behind to discuss his persona. Morgana was shocked to hear about Ren’s experience with personas, as well as his knowledge of multiple skills which were out of both their leagues. After explaining the situation he and Ryuji were in as well as some tips on persona coordination in combat, Morgana gave Ren some pills that looked like painkillers before heading to the door.

“Well, this is where we split up for now,” Morgana said. As he turned towards the door, Ren called out, “Why don’t you come with us?”

“I still have some stuff to do, and judging from what you said, I’m pretty sure you’re in the same boat. Let’s meet up soon.”

Ren shot a half-smile before he exited through the vent. “You can count on it. Maybe later you can come with us.”

* * *

Sumire was wandering around the campus, 2 bentos and her phone in hand while she was looking for somewhere to eat lunch. The whispers of the students around her followed, and she tried to tune them out like she usually did, but these rumors seemed to be different from usual since she heard different words surround her.

“…delinquent transfer…frizzy…late…Sakamoto…guts…”

Sumire was confused. There was another transfer? She never heard about anything like that when she was with Principal Kobayakawa.

Her phone buzzed as she got a text from Kasumi.

I found a place in the courtyard. Let’s eat lunch there. – Kasumi

Sumire – See you there.

Sumire ran down the flight of stairs as she headed straight to the courtyard. She opened the doors and looked around to see Kasumi waving over at her.

“Sumire! Over here!”

Sumire jogged over to where Kasumi was, handing her a bento.

“Hey Kasumi… Have you heard about that other transfer student?”

“Hm? The supposed ‘delinquent transfer’ everyone’s scared of? He carries a knife in his bag and has killed someone before? Sumire, shouldn’t you know by now that rumors aren’t always real?”

“O-oh, right…” Sumire’s look was downcast as she glanced at Kasumi, who only realized that she brought the mood down. There were rumors about that other transfer student, but the Shujin rumor mill was just as eager to throw falsehoods over their reputation as well. The two of them were already tired of the students gossiping about how they supposedly slept their way into honors standing, or had a boyfriend for each day of the week, among other things.

The twins ate their lunches over some light conversation, Sumire taking note of the flavors to find ways to improve for the next lunch. The lunch Ren made her 5 years ago was amazing, and Sumire wanted to be able to replicate it at some point, even though she was too shy to ask him for tips directly.

As the two polished off the last of their lunchboxes, Kasumi stretched in her seat.

“Ahh, that was amazing Sumire! I’m jealous that you can cook so well…”

“O-oh, it’s nothing… I’ve been trying to improve my cooking skills. They aren’t all that special…”

“You’re sure? They’ve been pretty good, but today’s lunch tasted kinda familiar…” Kasumi put her index finger on her chin as if she was thinking, but the grin on her face gave away to Sumire what would inevitably come next.

“K-Kasumi…” Sumire began to blush more heavily as she braced herself for the teasing that would fly her way any second.

“It reminds me of that lunch Ren-san made back in Inaba. You were texting him a lot, weren’t you…? Is my little sister’s boyfriend teaching her how to cook?” Kasumi’s grin became a toothy smirk as Sumire pouted and swung weakly at Kasumi.

“Stooooop…” Sumire’s face was so red she looked like her bangs were covering her face.

“You aren’t denying it~” Kasumi kept up the teasing until Sumire seemed to reach her breaking point. The bell rung as the two wrapped up their empty lunchboxes before racing each other to their classroom, Sumire’s blush thankfully subsiding by the time they reached their seats. Because of the train accidents, they had an early release from school today, and they didn’t have practice today so they could head home.

As the teacher walked in, the class stood up for 5th period to begin.

* * *

Ren stood outside his class with Ms. Kawakami, her tired look even more exasperated at the late introduction she had to do.

He had a bandage wrapped around the back of his head thanks to the concussion from the shadow guards, and after getting confronted by some attendance officers, he and Ryuji got away with blaming some muggers in hoods and dark loose clothing for the injuries they sustained. When they got to school, they were confronted by Kamoshida’s real self and a random faculty member, who had disdainful looks on their faces when they asked where the pair was for half the day.

Ryuji managing to spit out “a-a castle?” didn’t help, but the concussions the two evidently had did. They were sent to the nurse’s office where they got bandages and ice. Thankfully, Ryuji spun the idea that they were getting mugged but Ren protected him, the two of them getting concussions before the muggers ran off since Ren fought back well enough that they ultimately didn’t steal anything.

At least he had some brownie points and a believable excuse to go along with it.

“When you introduce yourself, don’t say anything unnecessary… I don’t need another headache to deal with today.”

“Just tell the class I was late after getting mugged. We both don’t need anymore headache than we have already.”

The door slid open as Ren took in his class, the two people standing out to him the most being the blonde girl from this morning as well as a blue-haired boy with numerous unnatural injuries.

“Everyone, this is Amamiya-san. He’s late after getting targeted by muggers on his way to school. Please, introduce yourself.”

“I’m Ren Amamiya. I hope we can get along for this school year.” He bowed while he introduced himself, the bandage on his head barely visible to the seated students. He heard whispers between the students as he stood back up straight, looking down at the floor while his ears perked up at bits of the conversations between his now-classmates.

_“Dude, that’s the delinquent transfer, right?”_

_“He’s pretty bold to come to school late on his first day.”_

_“Is he really a delinquent, though? He got mugged…”_

_“He’s a delinquent, moron. He could be lying.”_

_“I thought he carries a knife with him. How did he get that head injury?”_

“Everyone, quiet down!” Kawakami sighed as she prepared herself for a year of the rumormongering that was to come. “Let’s see… you’ll sit there, behind Takamaki.”

Ren silently nodded as he walked over to the seat he was pointed towards. As he passed by Takamaki’s desk, she shot him a concerned look before staring back out the window. Ren gave a slight nod before setting his bag down next to his desk, as he got settled.

“You’ll be dismissed after fifth period thanks to all the subway accidents. Alright, who’s in charge today?” Ren noticed the blue-haired boy raise his hand slightly before standing up.

“Everyone, please rise…”

He needed to meet with Ryuji after school.

* * *

Ren sighed as he shut the classroom door behind him, his first day at school coming to a close. He began walking down the stairs, but was interrupted by his homeroom teacher.

“Hey… Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Ren leaned against the wall of the stairs, Kawakami doing the same.

“I know you're trying to keep a low profile, but just watch who you hang out with. I heard you showed up to school with _that_ Sakamoto.”

“That?” The emphasis confused him.

“Sakamoto-kun is one of the troublemakers in the school. Try to stay away from him- oh speak of the devil…”

Ryuji walked up with his familiar limping stride as he whispered to Ren, “Meet me on the rooftop. I wanna talk about that castle.”

As Ryuji went up the stairs, Kawakami cocked an eyebrow and said “See? Just don’t associate with bad influences and you should be fine.”

With a wave, Ren went down the stairs and looped around back up to the third floor to avoid any teachers’ prying eyes. He looked around and after a bit of navigating, found the stairs to the roof which he sped up two steps at a time.

The door was closed with a “Off-Limits: Do not enter” sign, but testing the knob, it gave easily. Ren went onto the rooftop to see Ryuji leaning back in a chair, his feet propped up on a desk while he was on his phone.

“Yo.”

Ren gave a two-fingered salute before he walked over and leaned against one of the roof fans. The door closed behind him before Ryuji began talking.

“I wanna talk about that castle. It wasn’t a dream, right?”

Ren scoffed lightly. “If a dream gave you a concussion, then yes. The mugging was a cover story, unless you’re somehow missing some yen from your pocket.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened before he stuffed his hands in his pockets, pulling out some loose bills and coins before counting them.

“Holy shit, dude, I am- wait. Right… I bought one of the tamagoyaki pans before lunch ended…” Ryuji calmed down considerably after remembering what he ate for lunch, also seeming dejected when he remembered the exact type of bread he bought.

“Either way, I know for a fact that was real. Castle, weird Kamoshida in a robe and speedo, Morgana, the works. Also, I think I know what caused it.” Ren pulled out his phone before swiping a bit and showing Ryuji the red app.

“It said ‘Beginning Navigation’ before we reached the castle, and it said ‘Returned to the real world’ when we came back. Also, I can say for sure it was connected since I summoned-“

“That thing, right? You called it Arsène or whatever?”

Ren nodded. “Arsène is something called a persona. I’ll explain it later if I have to, but all I think I need to say for now is that if Arsène is involved, it’s definitely real. I want to go back too, but I bet you feel drained after all that.” He mentally smiled as he saw Ryuji’s shoulders fall as he let out a huge sigh.

“Haaah… yeah. Just running through that castle effin’ drained me, man. I feel like my legs are stuck in concrete… I still wanna go there though. The Kamoshida over there felt way too real. Like if he dropped the nice guy act here, he’d prolly be no different than what we saw there.”

“We can go tomorrow. There’s definitely something going on at this school, and it revolves around Kamoshida.”

As the two walked down the stairs Ren had to catch Ryuji a few times from almost nodding off and slamming his head into the next 5 steps below him. They split up at the station, Ren heading back to Yongen-Jaya to see how Sojiro would react.

* * *

Sumire was finishing up the last of her homework, Kasumi doing the same. The sound of the kitchen running could be heard while Akane was working on dinner. Sumire began putting her homework away as she heard a click from downstairs, followed by an “I’m home!” coming from her dad. She and Kasumi rushed out of their rooms and down the stairs, hugging him as he entered the living room.

“Hey dad!”

Shinichi smiled as he mimed struggling to move. “It’s good to see you too, girls, but can I walk again…?” The two pulled away with their hands to their mouths before all three burst into laughter.

Akane poked her head out to see the three laughing before she called out, “Dinner’s ready!”

The smell of food wafted through the house as they heard the clatter of porcelain and metal against the tablecloth. Shinichi went and changed before seating himself at the table, opposite Kasumi and Sumire while Akane sat next to him. The twins looked at the spread, mouths drooling as the tantalizing scent drifted around them.

Akane had prepared multiple cuts of pork katsu on a bed of lettuce, cheese croquettes drizzled with katsu sauce, a light salad dressed with mayonnaise, as well as some grilled salmon. The twins eagerly plated their food as they filled up their plates, their parents adding a normal amount.

“Itadakimasu!” The four intoned before digging in. Each of them began talking about their day, Kasumi and Sumire avoiding mentioning the rumors as they believed that they would eventually die down. Akane had a relatively uneventful day. Shinichi went last, mentioning that he had a relatively uneventful day at work save re-airing the mental shutdown news before noting that he had a new favorite café to frequent in Yongen-Jaya.

“It was called Café Leblanc, and the food was amazing. Its coffee was professionally brewed, too. It’s amazing that there’s such a good place here in Tokyo, but it was somehow stuck in the middle of the backstreets.”

“Wow, dad. If that one café got so much praise from you, we should go there sometime!” Kasumi cheerfully suggested as she plowed through the last of her meal.

“Oh, right. There was also a high schooler staying there. He seemed like a nice boy.”

“Really?” Sumire asked with her mouth a bit too full. She almost spat out some flakes of the salmon she ate before covering her mouth.

“He did say something that caught my attention, though.”

“What was it?” Kasumi polished off her plate before leaning in, staring intently at her dad. Sumire began drinking a glass of water.

“It wasn’t much, but he said his name was Amamiya Ren. It sounded familiar, that’s all.”

Silence.

Suddenly, Sumire spat out her water before blushing heavily.

“What?!”

She covered her mouth moments too late as Akane and Kasumi wore the same playful look.

“Well, now we definitely need to go there so Sumire can see her boyfriend.”

“Definitely. Well, Sumire? Aren’t you glad?” Kasumi poked her sister’s cheek lightly.

Sumire backed up and got up from her chair, pushing it in before bolting to her room and locking it. She leaned against it before screaming loud enough for the entire street to hear.

“Akane…” Shinichi had an amused look in his eyes, but he clearly showed exasperation at his wife’s endless teasing.

“Oh, hush. You know teasing Sumire is just as fun for me as it is fun for you to watch.”

Shinichi only shook his head as Sumire exited her room and headed to the bathroom, presumably to shower.

It was a miracle Sumire wasn’t already permanently red.

* * *

Ren sighed in relief as Sojiro greeted him with concern instead of anger. He was clearly not amused that Ren was half a day late on his first day, but the news of him getting “mugged” overwrote what rage he had. Thankfully, nothing eventful happened as Sojiro simply told him to go up and rest instead of helping out in the café thanks to the concussion he still had a bandage for.

Ren set his bag on the short divider between the attic and the stairs before taking a deep breath and collapsing. He pulled out his phone, since he needed to let Yu know about this right now.

_*beep*_

_“Ren? Is something up?”_

“Hey, Yu. Just wanted to check in. I have something you might be interested in hearing. But first things first, any footholds in my case?”

_“Nothing. I’ve been digging and even called in a request to look at your case file, but so much is redacted and censored there’s no starting point. I have Dojima-san, Naoto, and Chie with me right now and we’re digging through every lead we can get.”_

_“Yu-senpai, are you talking to Ren?”_

_“Huh? Ren?”_

_“Oi, you two! Focus on the work! Don’t lose a single lead!”_

Ren chuckled as he heard Naoto, Chie, and Dojima-san’s voices through the phone.

_“Dojima-san definitely has a vested interest in helping, probably thanks to you helping save Nanako all those years back. Naoto and Chie needed practically no persuasion to help.”_

Ren heard the shuffling of papers on the other side before he decided to speak up.

“Hey, Yu?”

_“Yeah?”_

“There’s something you need to know.”

Ren could _feel_ the smirk on Yu’s face.

“Finally taking my wingman offer? Been a while since you’ve said you needed to tell me something really important since the case.”

“Yu, this is serious.” Ren couldn’t help but let a bit of Arsène’s voice creep into his own, and that definitely caught Yu’s attention.

_“Huh- Why’d you sound like your persona for a second there, Ren?”_

“Because there’s a Shadow world in Tokyo, too.”

Ren heard the phone hit the ground as Chie and Naoto dropped what they were doing to snap Yu out of whatever shock he just induced. As Yu put the phone back to his ear, he asked Ren.

_“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you have your persona there, too?”_

Confused noises suddenly erupted from Yu’s side of the connection as Ren confirmed it. Explaining the situation as best he could without making himself sound insane, Yu agreed to bring it up with the Shadow Operatives when he got the chance. They hung up the call, Ren collapsing on his couch. Sojiro came up with a plate of curry and some coffee.

“Hey, kid. Sounded like you were talking with a friend of yours, so I wasn’t sure when was a good time to bring it up. Take it; it’s getting cold.”

“Yeah, just someone in the Inaba police force I’m friends with.” He saw Sojiro do a double take.

“H-how do you know someone in the police force but still get arrested…?”

“It’s cuz the person who accused me apparently has the police under his thumb. Luckily, my friends aren’t connected to that person and they’re working independently on it to see if they can find the guy or the woman I tried to save.”

“I’ll just… not question it anymore.” Sojiro pinched his brow. “Wash up the plate when you’re done. I’ll lock up.”

“Got it, boss.” Ren took a bite of his curry as Sojiro left, the jingle of the bell on the door letting Ren know he was finally alone.

Ren polished off his curry in silence, taking sips of the coffee while he scrolled through the train schedules for tomorrow. The coffee cleared his head, thankfully clearing up the fuzziness he felt from the concussion.

‘Looks like a normal train schedule for tomorrow… I’ll chat up Ryuji after school and we can figure out that castle then.’

Suddenly, he got a text from Sumire.

H-hey, Ren-san… Do you happen to live at Café Leblanc? – Sumire

Ren did a double take, almost spilling coffee on his school uniform he just realized he never changed out of.

Ren – Yeah, I do. How do you know that?

Apparently, you introduced yourself to my dad there… – Sumire

Ren – I don’t- wait- huh?

He’s planning on taking all of us there sometime. He really enjoyed the food. – Sumire

Ren – I can imagine. Want to come over on Sunday? That way we don’t have to decide on the date.

Ren – Plus, I sorta want to meet your parents.

A pause.

That sounds great, Ren! We’ll see you there! – Sumire

Ren – Kasumi, stop taking your sister’s phone. You already have my number from her phone…

Aww… I was hoping you wouldn’t find me out :( – Sumire

Ren – Anyways, see you on Sunday?

Maybe we can meerdtfyguhjkm – Sumire

Sorry, Ren-san… But yes. – Sumire

Ren – It’s getting late. Night, Sumire! You too Kasumi!

Goodnight! – Sumire

Ren noticed another text pop up.

Night, Ren-san! – Kasumi

Getting up, he pocketed his phone and brought down his plate and cup. He washed them in the sink before putting them away, heading back up to pull out his loungewear.

Ren opened his box of stuff, withdrawing some medicine as well as his knife, some scrap cloth, and a needle and thread. Ren put the medicine discreetly into his bag, and after some quick measurements, cut a strip of cloth and sewed it to the inside of his bag, leaving a side open for him to hide his knife in. After putting his gear and books in to see if it fit, Ren turned to his box to grab his loungewear.

With one swift motion, he pulled out his sweatpants and shirt, but two other things fell out. Picking them up, Ren realized it was Sumire’s old ribbon and his necklace from back then. Feeling the slightly faded fabric and the cool metal chain, Ren opted to separate the baton from the ribbon and tied it around his arm as a memento, as well as putting on the necklace. He noticed at the end of the ribbon was some embroidery, slightly crude but sewn into the characters that made up Sumire’s name.

Letting that side hang out from his sleeve slightly, he changed and got into bed, looking at the red app before falling asleep.

* * *

‘Igor really needs to warn me when he wants to call me to the Velvet Room…” Ren was pulling up his uniform pants as he fidgeted with the end of the ribbon now tied around his forearm. Thanks to being dragged into the Velvet Room last night, he was not only wide awake but had the phantom sensation of feeling like he slept on the sidewalk if he fell onto it from his attic window beforehand.

‘Can’t discount the information I got from it though. Now I can put a name to this weird app.’ Ren pulled out his phone, looking at the red app, now called the Metaverse Navigator, or Meta-Nav for short. He looked at the weather app before he pocketed his phone and grabbed his bag, his exploration gear hidden before he went downstairs. He ate his breakfast curry and downed the coffee before heading out, this time with an umbrella thanks to the rain that would come down soon.

As Ren packed himself into the train, he was running through his routine for the day. He’d actually attend classes from first period without running into the castle before school ended. He’d meet up with Ryuji, and hopefully investigate Kamoshida through that castle before he went home. Aside from the exploration, today should be uneventful unless something new came up.

Finally extricating himself from the train, he navigated his way through the crowds on the subway until he reached the platform for the train to school. While he stood, mostly in the back, he overheard some gossip from two students, also in Shujin uniforms.

“Hey, is that them?”

“Who, the twins over there?”

“Yeah, them. Aren’t they those gymnast honors students?”

‘Why is there a connection between Shujin and rumors…?’ Ren yawned as he heard the train pull in.

“Yeah, the Yoshizawa twins. What about them?”

Suddenly, Ren was wide awake. He was not expecting to hear ‘Yoshizawa’ on his way to school. Looking around, he saw the students gossiping, and further ahead…

He saw it.

The red hair. The glasses. The brown ponytail and red ribbon beside it.

The screeching of the brakes and the pushing from the crowd interrupted his thoughts as he stood in shock. After getting on the train, he saw the two sitting, an old lady standing nearby.

“Um… miss?” Sumire tried to get the old lady’s attention, tapping her shoulder lightly.

“Here… take my seat. You need it more.”

“Why, thank you dear. You’re so kind.”

Suddenly, a salaryman rushed into the seat.

“What speed- um, excuse me sir? That seat was for this lady here…”

Ren clenched a fist before pushing through the crowd, his focus on the salaryman.

“Hey, you.” Ren spoke in a commanding tone, his eyes boring into the man in front of him.

“What do you want, kid?”

“Last I checked, you should be giving up seats to the elderly.”

The man scoffed. “So? The girl gave up her seat, and I’m older than her.”

Ren pointed to the old lady. “Then give up your seat. This lady’s older than you.”

Kasumi got up and stood between the two. “Stop, please. Here, miss, take my seat.”

“My, the youth in this day and age certainly are kind…” Ren and Kasumi blocked off the seat from any other seat thieves, the old lady finally sitting down.

The conductor called out the next station, and they felt the train come to a stop. As Ren walked out of the car, he heard Kasumi and Sumire behind him.

“U-uh… we wanted to thank you for standing up to that man. I-I don’t think I would be a-able to stand up to him myself… and I didn’t want to be rude to our senpai…”

“Doubting yourself again, Yoshizawa-chan? Or should I say, Sumire?” Ren pushed up his glasses with the arm that didn’t have the ribbon, a faint smile forming at the corners of his lips.

Kasumi suddenly stepped forwards and held out her arm in front of her sister. “Who are you and how do you know my sister’s name?”

Ren wordlessly pulled out his necklace as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the ribbon and the embroidery. As the girls’ expressions changed to surprise, Ren let his grin come out in full force.

“I’m rather disappointed that you would forget me, Kasumi. It’s been a while, both of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the following for beta reading this chapter for me!
> 
> MushroomFusion245: Phantom Memories https://archiveofourown.org/works/26003371
> 
> AkiraKuru2: Persona: Cards Collide https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919303
> 
> Dev0ted released an angst fic and it does its job well! Check it out!
> 
> Dev0ted: Reforming the Shattered https://archiveofourown.org/works/26228026
> 
> this fic was brought to you by the AU: Canon Divergence tag


	8. Together Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren, Sumire, and Kasumi reunite, and he heads into the castle once again to find a new ally and a power Yu once had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I-erm-didn't mean to increase my highest chapter wordcount by 2k but here we are I guess. Enjoy.

Ren found himself wrapped in a pair of familiar arms as a river of red flowed in front of him.

“Ren-san!”

Behind Sumire, Ren could see Kasumi walking up with a smile, a hint of a smirk forming.

“Calm down, Sumire. I get that you missed him, but you shouldn’t start making out with him while you both are still in the station.”

Sumire’s eyes suddenly shot open as she pulled back, her face a fiery red. Her vision darted around, looking for a place to hide her embarrassment, but the only place she saw was behind Ren. Kasumi walked up, still wearing the smirk as she looked at Ren, who was scratching his neck while looking away slightly from the comment.

“Teasing aside, I wasn’t expecting you to go to Shujin, Ren. You never told us.”

“Well, you never really asked after I learned I was headed to Shujin, so I never had an opportunity to tell you. It’s nice to see you two though. I didn’t expect to already have friends here at school on my second day.”

“Speaking of, we should get to school. Come on Sumire. Unless you want to walk to school with Ren- _senpai_ ~…”

Sumire grabbed onto the back of Ren’s blazer before pushing him towards the subway exit, away from her sister’s teasing. Just from the embarrassment of hugging Ren in public, she already had a massive blush, and she wasn’t looking to turn into a tomato before school began.

As they walked into the rain, Ren pulled out his umbrella and unfurled it, ensuring Sumire stayed dry even though he held it at an awkward angle. Around them, they heard more students whispering,

_“Why do you think Yoshizawa’s clinging to the delinquent transfer?”_

_“Could it be blackmail?”_

_“Someone like him doesn’t deserve the honors student.”_

_“Do they like bad boys?”_

_“My Yoshizawa-san…”_

Ren shook off his frustration at the constant whispering surrounding them, Sumire too red to properly process the words that were flying around. Kasumi, however, caught the rumors and tried to process them.

‘Ren-senpai’s supposed to be the delinquent transfer? That doesn’t make sense, though…’

Kasumi had a determined look in her eyes, wanting to know the story behind Ren’s supposed delinquency now that they knew who the rumors were talking about.

* * *

The bell for lunch rang as Ren stretched in his seat, feeling somewhat fatigued from the constant focus on the lesson. Thankfully, he only needed to get through a few more periods before he was free to talk with Ryuji about going back into the castle. His phone buzzed a few times, Ren spinning it before reading the texts he received from Sumire:

Senpai, do you want to eat lunch with me and Kasumi in the courtyard? – Sumire

Kasumi:

Ren-senpai, there’s something I want to ask you about. Sumire and I will be in the courtyard – Kasumi

And Ryuji:

Yo dude, let’s hang out. I’ll be on the roof and we can talk about the castle. – Ryuji

Ren accepted the twins’ offer, curious about what Kasumi needed to ask about while declining Ryuji’s offer. He told Ryuji to meet him in the alleyway in front of the school after classes were over, and to make sure he didn’t draw attention to the two of them.

Satisfied, Ren pocketed his phone and went down to the foyer to buy some school bread, where he came across Kamoshida talking to the principal.

“I mean, seriously, it’s bad enough that you accepted that delinquent into the school, but now he’s even started associating with Sakamoto. At this rate, all the effort I put into the team will be for nothing.”

Kamoshida pinched his brow as Principal Kobayakawa shook his hands in front of him, seemingly desperate to appease the perverted P.E. coach.

“N-no need to worry, Kamoshida-san! I’m doing my best to maintain the reputation of the school, in no small part to your excellent coaching of the volleyball team! Should the transfer student act up rest assured he will be punished on the spot!”

Ren’s hand was clenched into a fist as he heard the two talk, the castle flickering around him as he momentarily saw Kamoshida in his “kingly” attire and Kobayakawa in slaves’ clothes. The adults’ conversation was eventually drowned out by the growing crowd in front of the student store, snapping Ren back to reality. He released his fist and made a beeline for the window, grabbing a yakisoba pan and handing his money to the vendor before quickly escaping the suffocating mass of students.

Now holding onto his lunch, Ren wandered the halls a bit before reaching the double doors that led to the walkway in the courtyard. Opening them up, he looked around before seeing the girls at the table and benches near the vending machines, talking amongst themselves while two large bentos sat in front of them, a familiar smell wafting from them.

Ren walked up to the twins, the students around them giving the trio a wider berth than before. Kasumi had a happy look on her face while Sumire seemed to light up slightly before giving a shy smile.

“Glad you could make it, Ren-senpai.”

“Nice to s-see you ag-again Senpai…” Sumire was idly stroking her hair with her right hand, her left going to her chest before settling on a small object Ren couldn’t make out from where he was.

“Nice to see you girls. I’m glad I can eat lunch with you today.”

Ren sat down between the two, Sumire shyly looking away but smiling lightly. Kasumi’s look was suddenly determined while Ren unwrapped his bread, blurting out before Ren took a bite:

“Ren, I wanted to ask you something.”

Ren set his lunch down, unsure what to expect.

“It’s about the rumors around you. Why are they calling you the ‘delinquent transfer’?” Sumire gasped at this remark, while Ren grimaced slightly before he sighed and shifted slightly in his seat.

“Well… it all started the day my training went on longer than usual. You remember that day, right Sumire? I only texted since my phone was dying.”

Sumire nodded while Ren covered everything that happened after they stopped texting. The drunk man and the woman. Ren stepping in to stop the man. The man tripping over his feet and injuring himself, but blaming it on Ren. The police taking him away and the trial that was just for show.

While Ren told the story, Kasumi’s face was one of shock. She was surprised to see that of all people to be negatively affected by someone powerful enough to control the police, it would be Ren.

Ren suddenly noticed the odd pressure around his arm, looking towards it to see Sumire wrapping herself around it tightly. He chuckled lightly as he wrapped his other arm around her shoulder, pulling her in with no resistance before resting his head on hers.

“Mmm… I’m glad you’ve stayed the same, Senpai…”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“You’re so nice to people... even if it means you get hurt in their place…”

Sumire relaxed in the warmth of Ren’s hug before she heard the click of a shutter and saw Kasumi holding up her phone, the lens pointed at the two. She giggled before showing the picture.

“Mom’s gonna get a kick out of this!”

Sumire broke the hug, her face turning the same color as her eyes as she covered them with her hands. Ren laughed with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks before a buzzing sound came from his pocket. He glanced at his screen and typed out a quick message, pocketing it and setting his eyes on the food in front of them.

“We should probably eat our lunch. I have a friend coming by soon.”

Ren got started on his bread while the twins enjoyed their bentos, Sumire thinking while she ate and writing notes in her planner. She finished her meal to see Ren eating the last of his bread, prompting her to ask,

“Is that all you’re having for lunch, Senpai?”

“Yeah, I don’t quite have the right stuff to make my own lunch just yet…” Ren sighed as he remembered Sojiro’s stubbornness in not letting him use the kitchen at night to prepare lunch.

“Th-then should I make lunch for you until you can…?”

It was Ren’s turn to blush heavily.

“That would be nice…”

“Yo, Renren!”

Ren jumped in his seat as he heard a familiar loud voice call out behind him. Taking a deep breath, he got rid of the blush on his face before turning around to see Ryuji approaching him.

“What’s up, Ryuji?”

“I was wondering why you didn’t wanna hang out during lunch, so I messed around on the web while I ate my lunch, then came down after you texted me. Damn leg acted up, though, so I sorta fell… down a few… steps…”

Ryuji’s eyes widened as he took in the two girls behind Ren, confusion written on their faces with the new addition to their party.

“Dude, the eff?! How the hell’d you get a date with the honors gymnast students already?!”

The courtyard was suddenly filled with whispers about Ren’s possible relationship with the twins, but all he did was shrug and take off his glasses, sending a hard glare at the gossiping idiots around him, immediately quieting down their surroundings. Satisfied, he put on his glasses and continued.

“It’s not really a date more so just eating lunch together, but I’ve actually known these two for 5 years already. Kasumi, Sumire, this is Ryuji Sakamoto.”

“Hi Sakamoto-senpai!” Kasumi gave a quick bow before looking at Sumire, who was hiding behind Ren.

“I-I-It’s nice to meet you, Sakamoto-senpai…”

Ren chuckled and ruffled Sumire’s hair a bit, earning him a pout. “Still shy around other people, huh Sumire?”

“S-senpai…”

Sumire clutched at Ren’s blazer harder, trying to hide her blush in the dark fabric. Ryuji let out a small “huh” before continuing his comment from before, completely carefree.

“So, we’re gonna head in after school, right? Meet you outside the gate?”

“Yeah. See you there.”

With a wave and a broad grin, Ryuji wandered off, probably headed elsewhere in a much better mood. Ren could barely hear Ryuji mutter, “Sakamoto-senpai, huh… I can definitely get used to that…”

Ren turned to the twins, looking down at Sumire who was nervously tapping the tips of her forefingers together. A sudden realization came to him as he went to sit down with the two again, and he knew it couldn’t wait.

“I almost forgot. Kasumi, Sumire, there’s something I absolutely have to tell you, but this isn’t something you should just openly say, okay?.” The two nodded nervously, the atmosphere suddenly getting heavy.

Ren ran his fingers through his hair before sighing. “I need you to, under any circumstance, keep your distance from Kamoshida. Right now, I’m worried what’ll happen to you two if he manages to catch one of you alone. If he tries something, call me or each other. I’ll see if I can make something to ensure you don’t have to worry about anything happening to you without a record of it.”

Kasumi nodded while Sumire, somehow, was already re-attached to Ren’s arm and hugged it harder.

“We already had a bad impression of Kamoshida-sen- no, Kamoshida when we first got here, but now we’ll be extra careful. We’ll have you on speed-dial just in case, so we have a backup in case one of us is unavailable.”

Ren nodded, the bell ringing to signal the end of lunch. The three split up at the stairs, bracing themselves for the impending rumors that would inevitably fill up the rest of their day.

* * *

Ren flew out of the classroom once classes were over, glad to be free from his desk. He checked to make sure nothing was missing from his bag as he rushed out the front doors, seeing Ryuji’s blonde hair in the alleyway over the crowd. Taking the steps two at a time, Ren pulled out his phone while shrugging his bag off of his shoulder. Ryuji noticed him approaching and grinned.

“You ready? I bought somethin’ for this. We gotta figure out some shit about Kamoshida, and that castle definitely feels like it’d have some answers.” He punched his palm before gesturing to Ren’s phone. “You got the app that’ll send us to the castle, right? Let’s do this!”

Ren tapped the red and black icon on his phone, swiping to the ‘History’ tab and tapping on the latest entry.

_Kamoshida. Castle. Shujin Academy. Beginning Navigation._

The world around them warped and distorted before the castle overlaid itself on the school, the sky turning an ominous purple with clouds circling the tower. As Ren felt the world around him distort, his clothes changed, the black coat, red gloves, and domino mask appearing on his person. His bag disappeared, but he felt the medicine he bought in his pocket and his combat knife in his sleeve.

Ryuji was more fixated on the castle, however.

“Woah… Dude, it’s actually the castle from yesterday…” He turned to Ren. “The eff?! Those clothes are back!”

Ren smirked and adjusted his glove. “Jealous?”

“I- uh- I ain’t- I ain’t jealous…” Ryuji attempted to look everywhere without Ren in his field of vision, but it failed to hide his emotions in no small part from the stuttering.

Ren let his knife slide out from one sleeve while he pulled out his bottle of medicine with the other. “Here’s what I have. New knife and some extra medicine. Some of it is different, so we keep it separated.”

Ryuji pulled out some medicine bottles from his bag. “Here’s some more medicine I grabbed at the pharmacy. Oh, and...” Ryuji hands the medicine to Ren, who begins sorting it out, before pulling out a model pistol and shotgun from his bag. Ren did a double take before he managed to spit out:

“Did you have those with you the whole school day…?”

Ryuji’s sheepish look was the only answer he needed.

“Goddammit… At least I can use it for intimidation purposes…” Ren took the fake gun and put it in his coat, positioning It in a way that he could hold his knife with his right hand while drawing the gun with his left.

“Wha- you two?!”

A large black head poked out of the ventilation shaft the two left last time, cat ears confirming the silhouette of their ally.

“Hey Morgana.” Ren gave a salute to the little Persona-user.

“You’re back sooner than I expected.” Morgana jumped out of the vent and waddled over to him. “I’ve been looking around here and… it’s not a pretty picture this Palace is painting.”

“Palace?” Ryuji was understandably confused, Ren only somewhat puzzled due to the new name for these Shadow nests.

“A place where distorted desires manifest. If someone’s cognition is distorted enough, they can change buildings to structures like these in the Metaverse. I call these structures ‘Palaces’.”

“So what you’re saying is… this castle is what Kamoshida sees the school as?”

“Exactly.”

“Hah… it’s so effin’ accurate it’s unreal… You hear me Kamoshida?! You ain’t controllin’ this school anymore!”

Ren covered Ryuji’s mouth before warning him.

“Shut up or you’ll attract all the enemies to where we are. Morgana, should we go in through the vent again?”

He nodded. The three went up to the vent shaft, Morgana jumping on nearby crates and barrels before climbing into the metal shaft, Ryuji struggling and failing multiple times to find a foothold in the brick. Ren stood under the hole and linked his fingers, crouching so that he could boost Ryuji up. After Ryuji climbed through, Ren backed up before running up and doing a one-handed climbing flip to his surprise, landing neatly in the shaft as if he did it many times before.

As Ren looked down at his hands almost questioningly, Morgana explained to the two seeing as Ryuji was simply gaping at what Ren just did.

"This world is a byproduct of cognition. If you can imagine something, it will happen, just like that leap you did. The more perceivable it is, the better."

Ren nodded before a realization struck him. He reached into his coat, feeling the gun in it before pressing his ear to the crack in the door. Hearing a single set of metallic footsteps, Ren held his finger up in a 'shh' motion before pushing through with his body, seeing the guard with its back turned. He signaled to Morgana to check the surroundings, jumping onto the guard with a turning backflip.

"Show me your true form!"

The guard convulsed before bursting into red and black ichor, reforming into 2 white humanoid figures with a large red flower on each of their heads. Immediately, Ren let his knife fall into his grip as he stabbed through one of them, slashing outward before it disintegrated. He turned to the other Shadow, but instead of charging in with his knife, he pulled out the model Tkachev and leveled it at the head of the second shadow.

"Try this on for size..." Ren flicked the safety off and wrapped his finger around the trigger. He leveled the gun at the shadow and squeezed.

_BANG!_

The bullet tore through the shadow, leaving a hole where the bullet passed through before it disintegrated outward from the injury. Ren looked at the gun again, smoke wafting from the barrel as a brass casing sat at his feet.

Ryuji's and Morgana's eyes widened at the newfound firearm at their disposal. "Holy shit man... did you just shoot real bullets from that thing?"

Morgana quickly shook off the shock, giving Ren a cocky smirk. "Looks like you catch on quickly. Since the world is controlled by cognition, things will work if they at least look like the real deal. I guess for now, you can lead our infiltration. I'll navigate, if you don't mind."

Ren shot Morgana an inquisitive look. "Your persona have any support abilities?"

"Aside from healing skills, not really, but Zorro can scout a bit better than normal personas."

"Fair enough."

Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana wove through multiple hallways, avoiding the guards as they hid behind cover before dashing past them unseen. Ren took the opportunity to make sure everyone was ok while they hid, Ryuji struggling to keep up on account of his bad leg and lack of a Persona. Soon, they reached a set of stairs that led to a double door, a sign above it.

"'Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love'? The eff?" Ryuji opted to be very vocal about the sign before Ren looked at Morgana, who just shrugged. The three approached the door and opened it, bracing themselves for the sight they would see on the other side of the doors.

* * *

Kasumi and Sumire were at practice, refining their performances. Hiraguchi was watching them with a smile, glad to see that the girls had much more motivation than usual.

Sumire was using her new ribbon in a series of original moves, throwing and catching the ribbon while she did all sorts of acrobatic stunts that flowed into each other. Her movements were fluid, like a dance at a ball, and were very easy to get lost in.

“Good job, Sumire!” Hiraguchi clapped as Sumire ended her routine, panting slightly as the ribbon fluttered to the ground. After pointing out some small errors which were easily remedied, Hiraguchi turned her attention to Kasumi, who executed a series of bolder moves, integrating techniques from other activities while the end of her ribbon was flicked all around her.

When she got to the middle of her routine, Hiraguchi noticed it again. Something was off about Kasumi’s routine, but it was only briefly and scattered throughout her performance. Despite this, it remained familiar, even using the same moves as Kasumi leaped between areas on the mat she was on. As she finished up, Hiraguchi clapped again, but with a sterner expression.

“Kasumi, exemplary performance as always. However, it doesn’t seem like you’ve taken what I told you earlier to heart. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t improving; you did much better than usual, like Sumire. However, you seem to be stuck right now. Again, try to find out what makes you stick out, not what makes others stand out. Focus on yourself before you focus on your rivalry.”

She addressed the twins together this time. “All corrections aside, you two had much more motivation than yesterday. Is there a reason behind it?” Sumire flushed, leaving Kasumi and Hiraguchi to grin.

“We reunited with Ren-senpai at school. You remember him, right? He was the boy that saved Sumire in Inaba.”

“Oh? That’s a welcome surprise. Considering Sumire’s rather large motivation boost today, she’s pretty close to him.”

“The two texted and called each other every day before Ren-senpai moved here. When we met up though…” Kasumi excused herself momentarily, Sumire’s heart dropping when she saw Kasumi come back with her phone. She opened the gallery and turned the screen towards Hiraguchi. “I think you can see for yourself.”

Hiraguchi looked at the picture and smirked. “Maybe you should invite him over sometime so Sumire can perform for her boyfriend.”

Suddenly red, Sumire ran off, grabbing her things before holing herself up in her changing room. Her blush was so prominent she felt like it wasn’t just visible on her face, but on other parts of her body too.

“I think we broke her again, Coach.” Kasumi started laughing while Hiraguchi let out a chuckle. As Kasumi excused herself and took her stuff, she saw Sumire hiding her face in her towel, freshly showered and changed. Her blush, however, seemed to show itself through Sumire’s new embarrassment hider, and Kasumi smiled to herself, not wanting to have to wait another few minutes from teasing Sumire too much.

Plus, there was always the possibility of Sumire hiding some surprise wasabi in her lunch tomorrow.

* * *

The trio dashed through the hallways of Kamoshida’s Palace, some Shadow guards chasing behind. Thanks to some quick recognition from Ryuji, they had a list of names of people to ask for possible intel on Kamoshida’s misdeeds. However, Ryuji was too loud and alerted a guard, who brought in reinforcements. One vent crawl and a bit of running later, they found themselves close to their exit, across the foyer.

“Just gotta get to that door, and then Kamoshida is history…” Ren pointed it out to Morgana and Ryuji, who were hiding further back than he was.

They nodded, and they made a straight dash to the doorway. However, before they passed through, a Shadow captain erupted from the ground, Ren running headfirst into its shield.

“Ow…” He took in the situation in front of them. “Shit! Everyone, follow my lead!” Ren doubled back, reaching the front door before they heard a familiar distorted voice.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the thieves… Probably here for information, or worse, my riches.” Shadow Kamoshida grinned and walked down the steps. Behind him, more guards appeared, some wearing the gold armor of captains, the rest being lower-ranking guards. “It’s a shame you won’t get to leave with whatever you stole…”

“Yeah, right Kamoshida! Once we get outta here you’re done!” Ryuji had an enraged expression directed solely at Kamoshida, clearly not noticing the large mass of Shadows collecting around the room.

“Ryuji, stand down.” Ren sent a sharp glance to him before turning towards Kamoshida. “You think you can hold us in? I’d like to see you try. Morgana!”

At Ren’s order, the two pulled out their ranged weapons, shooting multiple shadow guards’ masks before running and ripping off them masks of two other guards. The hit guards convulsed before pooling into Shadow mass, revealing black horses with white manes and 2 curved green horns. The other lower-level guard shadows, in their rage, began seizing up as well, bursting from their undamaged masks to reveal more horses, fairy-like shadows, floating pumpkins, pink demons, and the flower-headed shadows.

“Let’s go.”

Ren and Morgana jumped to opposite ends of the room, Ren swinging his knife around him in wide circles before slamming the blade into the ground, his mask dematerializing as Arsène assaulted the enemies behind Ren with multiple shots of Eiha. Morgana, seemingly using Ren’s combat advice, used sweeping strikes with his scimitar before tagging out with Zorro, blue flames trailing from his head before blades of wind ricocheted off of the shadows around him. Zorro charged with Morgana, impaling shadows on its rapier before the blade glowed green, the harsh winds exploding the shadows into black dust.

Ren pulled out his gun, shooting at the shadows around him before a charge of the horned horses knocked him to the side. Ren put out his hand and hit the floor, landing a flip to recover. Arsène floated back to Ren’s side, and Ren held out his hand.

“Arsène! Let’s go!”

With a crouching swipe of his knife, Ren leaped into the air with Arsène charging straight into the mass of enemies. His hand was in front of him, palm facing up before raising it, forming a fist.

“Showtime!”

Arsène and Ren focused before red and black energy exploded from around Arsène, knocking all the enemies back and damaging some of them heavily. Others which were already injured were dissolved, and the remaining tendrils of cursed energy from the Showtime attack collected around the blade, extending it as Ren swung around him and cleaved multiple shadows in half. Suddenly, he was hit in the chest by a volley of fireballs from the pumpkin shadows, the pink demon shadows drawing energy from Ren as they healed their wounds. Ren struggled to stay standing and staggered when the flower shadows cast a confusion spell on him until he was struck in the back by lightning and collapsed onto one knee, physically and mentally exhausted after the exchange.

Morgana capitalized off of Ren’s attack, slashing away at the weakened enemies before he noticed Ren keeled over on one knee. “Zorro, heal and protect Ren!” With a few slashes, Morgana cleared away some more shadows before he was cornered by some fairy and horse shadows.

“Nyahhhhhh!” Morgana’s fur stood on end as the fairy shadows unleased multiple bolts of lightning onto Morgana, Zorro recoiling similarly before it was hit by horse shadows in the back while multiple shadows assaulted Ren with as many spells as they could. As Arsène and Zorro dispersed into blue flames, the cursed energy around Ren’s knife dissipating, Kamoshida walked from his place to where Ren was struggling to get up. A guard captain began approaching Morgana and the surviving non-guard shadows began closing in on Ryuji.

Kamoshida reared his leg before letting it swing into Ren’s stomach, making him cough out but also crouch low enough that Kamoshida could plant his foot on Ren’s back, forcing him prone. Morgana, now smelling burnt, lay face-down on the ground with a golden boot pressing down on his small torso.

“Shit… SHIT!” Ryuji backed away, pointing his shotgun at the shadows around him. A look of terror and helplessness was visible in his eyes as he found himself with his back pressed against a wall again.

“You really thought you could get away… no matter. Focus on the execution of these two. After we’re done with them, it’s his turn to die. And the blood is all on his hands…” Kamoshida chuckled. “It’s a shame to see the ‘Track Traitor’ fall so low as to cause the deaths of the two things who ever gave a shit about him… Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

“Track… Traitor…?” Ren coughed out.

“You didn’t know? Or didn’t he tell you already? It’s only thanks to his selfish actions that the track team was dissolved. Even after my kindness in supervising track practice, he still attacked me.” Kamoshida’s mocking tone made Ren sick.

“That wasn’t kindness… it was effin’ abuse! You just made us go through that ‘cuz you hated the Track team!” Ryuji glared at Kamoshida, his shotgun pressed into his back as the Shadows drew closer to him.

“Do you need me to break your other leg? The school will call it self-defense anyways.” Kamoshida gloated at Ryuji, adjusting his foot so that he could better look at the blonde who was about to die to the Shadows. Unbeknownst to them, Ren used the change in pressure to reach into his pocket and stealthily unscrewed his bottle of painkillers with one hand.

“Ryuji…” Morgana struggled weakly. “So that’s why you wanted to come here…”

“Don’t… let him… win, Ryuji… argh!” Ren tried pushing up with his free hand, struggling before he was met with increased pressure on his back.

“Silence, peasant! Do you want to die faster?”

**“Shaddup, Kamoshida. I’m sick of hearin’ your voice.”**

Everyone’s heads shot to Ryuji, whose voice reverberated throughout the foyer. Ren saw an ethereal, crystalline butterfly fly towards Ryuji before turning into a clear glowing card, slowly spinning in place in front of Ryuji’s face.

**“All the coverups, the abuse… I dunno what you think you are, Kamoshida, but I’m done playin’ by your damn rules!”**

The card shimmered before a mass of white particles formed at the bottom edge, rising up to create the face. Le Chariot adorned the bottom of the card, an image of a man on a chariot led by two horses materializing above it. The roman numeral VII was set in the top center of the card, and it all was finished in the red, black, and white of Ren’s own tarot. The shadows surrounding him suddenly froze and backed up, sensing a buildup of power within the blonde track star.

**“So how about you stop lookin’ down on me…”** Ryuji lashed out an arm, pointed directly at Kamoshida, **“with that stupid smile on your face!”**

Suddenly, the tarot floating in front of Ryuji shook as an unseen force struck it, creating a hole on the middle left of the card. Ryuji blinked, and he was immediately hit with a migraine as his irises shrunk and glowed a bright gold.

**_You made me wait quite a while._ **

Ryuji clutched his head, the tarot floating in place as it pulsed.

**_You seek power, correct? Sign the pact that lays in front of you…_ **

**_Your reputation already lies shipwrecked at sea… Why not take up the banner of rebellion?_ **

**_The other you within desires it so…_ **

****

**_Will you fight back for your allies? Wreak havoc no matter the opponent?_ **

“Ya know the answer already… Bring it!!!” The tarot was struck again, forming another hole opposite the first. Ryuji keeled over, now on all fours as the migraine intensified.

**_Very well… I am thou, thou art I._ **

**_Thou shalt run from thyself no longer._ **

The bottom corners of the tarot broke off, forming a skull shape before floating back in front of Ryuji’s face.

**_Thy contract has been sealed. Thy race has begun…_ **

**_There is no more turning back._ **

**_The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!_ **

Ryuji looked up, the tarot flying into his face and materializing as a gray skull mask. He clutched at it with one, then two hands, only met with great resistance almost like it was glued to his skin.

“Guards! Execute them!” Kamoshida motioned with his hand as the guard on top of Morgana raised its sword.

“Rrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggghhh!”

Ryuji tore off the mask, droplets of blood flying from where the skull once was. As the mask hit the ground, Ryuji’s face seemed to regrow its skin as a blue pillar of fire wrapped around him. The droplets of blood, on contact with the flames electrified before bursting into bolts of lightning, electrocuting the shadows that threatened to take the boy’s life minutes earlier.

Ryuji’s sneakers melted into polished black dress shoes. His uniform pants changed into black slacks, steel-covered knee guards on each leg. His blazer and shirt closed up and became a high-collared leather jacket wrapping around his torso with yellow gloves on each hand. Finally, a red ascot materialized around his neck and an ammo belt with 12-gauge shells rested on his hip.

The flames rose up, forming a large humanoid figure on a large mass before they dispersed. Behind Ryuji was a skull-faced pirate with a red eye, a golden arm cannon, and a disproportionately small pirate ship with a toothy grin beneath its feet.

‘A pirate here to steal a treasure, huh… how fitting.”

Ryuji looked at Kamoshida with a manic grin. “You ain’t bossin’ me around like you did a year ago, Kamoshida. Now that I got this power, it’s time for payback.” He scowled and once again, pointed at the false king.

“Blast ‘em away, Captain Kidd!”

Raising its arm cannon, it shot a bolt of lightning at the guard on top of Morgana. Its sword attracted the electricity, forcing it into the armor and frying the shadows within. With a fluid motion, Ryuji dashed towards the frightened king and smashed the stock into his face before turning around and shooting one of the fairy shadows desperately tending to its wounds. Ren smirked at Ryuji as he pushed himself up, his mask beginning to dissolve.

“Nice job, Ryuji. Let’s do this! Morgana! Fall back!”

Their cat-like ally saluted and jumped behind a pillar, watching the battle and yelling out tactical advice.

“Ryuji! Behind you!”

Ryuji continued assaulting the shadows that charged him with his shotgun, bludgeoning or shooting them while the Shadow captains formed a protective circle around Kamoshida. Captain Kidd floated down, ramming multiple shadows before letting loose another volley of electricity towards the guards.

“Arsène!” Ren ran into a shadow, slashing at it before jumping up and off the wall in front of him. Flaming blue tendrils wrapped around him as the red-clad figure released a wave of cursed energy that heavily damaged the surrounding shadows. While he braced for his landing, Ren whipped out his pistol and rapid-fired into his surroundings, the bullets taking out the weakened shadows. With a roll, Ren got up from where he was to see Ryuji blast multiple enemies with electrified bullets courtesy of his persona. The two walked up to each other before going up to Kamoshida.

“Remember how I suggested we see how well you fare without your lies? How about we do that now? Let’s see the truth behind your power!” Ren pointed his knife at Kamoshida, grinning before he grasped his mask with his left hand.

The domino mask glowed blue, cracks forming around it before it shattered, oddly leaving the same mask in Ren’s fingers. However, shortly visible on the bridge of the mask was the roman numeral XXI before it glowed and faded into the mask.

“Persona!”

With a gust, Ren’s mask floated up and the bottom rounded out and dropped down. The face of the mask rounded out, the eyeholes merging into the top edge of the mask until it became a ridged full-face mask. Suddenly, Ren called out a name once familiar to him, feeling his bond with Yu well up from the depths of his heart.

“Come forth, Izanagi!”

A head materialized behind the mask, a white bandana closing off the eyeholes now showing yellow eyes. The body of the figure appeared in a flash of light, the high-collared black trenchcoat and grey vest mirroring Ren’s attire. In its right hand, it held a long black bar with a blade guard and a machete-like blade at the end.

Ren immediately charged, Izanagi doing the same before they split up and surrounded the group of shadows.

“Cross Slash!”

Ren held up his knife before it was struck by a strong bolt of lightning, then holding the blade in a reverse grip before pushing forwards, cutting through the cluster of shadows. Izanagi followed suit, the two blades leaving a plus-shaped trail that crackled before extinguishing. The two figures nodded to each other before Izanagi faded, the mask reappearing on Ren’s face with a 0 appearing until it faded into the mask. He turned around to see two shocked faces, one from Ryuji and another from Morgana, who healed both of them during the attack.

“Holy- You can use _two_ personas?!” Morgana snapped out of his shock, confused at what just happened.

“Dude, what was that?! That was so effin’ cool!” Ryuji patted Ren on the back before turning his glare to Kamoshida. “See that, Kamoshida? With a guy like him against you, you’re done at this school!”

With a terrified look in his eyes, Kamoshida ran away, disappearing into the shadows. Ryuji struggled to run after him, but collapsed on the ground.

“Hey! Get back he-rgh!”

“Ryuji!”

Morgana hopped over, his scimitar no longer over his shoulder. “You’re exhausted after summoning your persona. There’s no way you can chase after him now.”

“But- “

“No buts, Ryuji.” Ren sternly shut down Ryuji’s protests. “When I awakened to Arsène, I was out like a light once the fight ended. Don’t play tough guy unless you want to die. Especially now.” He slung Ryuji’s arm over his shoulder. “Come on. We’ll be back soon to get this bastard, but I’m beat, you’re beat, and Morgana here is probably recovering.”

The three of them ran to their infiltration vent, collapsing on the table. Ren grabbed the medicine bottle and took out a few pills, passing one to each. The three persona-users swallowed them, feeling their physical stamina return and their wounds heal.

“Thanks for that, Ren. I’ll get some tools ready for the next time you guys come back here so we can explore a bit further. Maybe we can even start exploring the depths of Memen-”

“Morgana.” Ren stopped their ally from rambling on for too long. “I’d love to hear what you have in mind, but right now neither of us are in a state to hear it without forgetting it the moment we sit down. If you want to tell us about it, come with us for now. If you know how to make tools for exploring this Palace, I might need your help at something tonight.”

Morgana relented, seemingly relieved that he would be able to rest after exploring the Palace for days on end. He was also interested in Ren, something within him keeping him from declining the offer. As they left the Metaverse, they saw Morgana morph into a black housecat and after lots of ~~pleading~~ coercion, opted to keep him in Ren’s bag, much to the latter’s dismay.

As the trio ate some ramen at Ogikubo by Ryuji’s suggestion, they discussed their next plan, involving looking around during the volleyball rally.

* * *

The bell of Leblanc’s front door jingled, alerting Sojiro to Ren’s return. He lowered his cigarette and raised an eyebrow at the teen, the shuffling from Morgana in his bag barely noticeable.

“Ah, you’re back. Why were you out so late?”

“Sorry, Sojiro. I got a bit caught up during rush hour hanging out with a friend, but I lost track of time. Also, I needed to pick up some stuff for a thing I need to make for a friend.”

“Looks like you’re better after yesterday. Get changed and help me take care of the last of the customers. I’ll show you how to brew coffee in the meantime, and the desk in the attic has some tools if you need those for… whatever you’re making.”

Ren nodded and dashed up the stairs, skipping steps before setting his bag down to his right. He unzipped it and pressed a finger over Morgana’s mouth.

“Stay quiet until I come back up.”

Ren shucked off his uniform and changed into a tan-colored long shirt and jeans, threw on his apron, and came down to the pile of dishes that needed to be cleaned. Sighing, he headed to the sink and began scrubbing.

…

As the last of the customers trickled out, Ren shook his hands dry and wiped them on the towel before turning back to Sojiro.

“Whew… long day. Haven’t had that many customers in a while. C’mere, let’s start with the basics.”

Ren watched and took mental notes on Sojiro’s instructions, who was doing the entire process with no small level of skill. Sojiro covered everything, from the water quality to the coarseness of the grind. Soon, Ren found himself sitting on a bar stool with a steaming cup of Blue Mountain sitting in front of him. Taking a sip, Ren appreciated the rich flavor and full aroma before setting it down.

“Wow. I’ve never been one for coffee, but that was definitely one of the best cups I’ve had.”

“…What type of coffee did you drink before you came here?” Ren shrunk under Sojiro’s hard look. He already knew that the café owner would disapprove, but there was no reason to lie.

“…instant coffee…?”

If Sojiro’s glare shot lasers Ren was pretty sure he’d already be missing his face.

“Well, better train you now than never. Try brewing that cup of coffee the way I showed you. Same beans, but wash the equipment first.”

Ren followed the instructions as he remembered them, but since he was unused to brewing coffee, he felt that he poured too quickly, then too slowly, and his grind was uneven and not quite the right texture.

He set the cup of coffee down, and Sojiro sipped it before sighing. “The flavor profile is bland. Practice a bit with this type of bean to get the full flavor profile. Not bad for a first attempt, but there were some things you could do better.”

His expression quickly became a proud smirk. “If this is the type of coffee you can put out on your first try, you’ll be working here pretty soon. Go on upstairs. I’ll clean up for now. You look pretty exhausted yourself.”

“Thanks… The coffee might keep me up for another hour or two.”

Ren grabbed the cups and saucers and put them in the sink, leaving them for Sojiro to wash. His heavy footsteps alerted Morgana, who seemed to be looking intently at the desk.

“Hey Ren, this desk looks like it’d be useful for making infiltration stuff. Let’s start making some tools first.”

Ren took off his apron and put it in his box, neatly folded. After clearing off the dust from the desk, he moved some junk before grabbing the red toolbox and opening it.

“Let’s try making a lockpick. Here, I have some materials to make them.” He pulled out a small piece of sheet metal and some thread before setting them on the table, grabbing a set of clippers with his mouth and presenting it to Ren.

“Here. You’ll want to take a small strip of the metal and make a tension hook with the string, and make a serrated edge on one end of the remaining metal. Don’t worry if you mess up, though.”

Ren followed Morgana’s instructions, cutting through the metal to make a thin and thick strip. He cut a groove on one end of the thin strip, tying the thread around it and grabbing pliers afterward to bend it in half before bending the end again at a right angle to make a rudimentary tension hook. Shifting his attention to the other strip of metal, he measured out enough room to hold it well and cut a descending serrated edge, making the second part of the lockpick. The two looked at their tool, both impressed that it turned out well and slightly miffed that it seemed to be fragile enough that it wasn’t good for more than one use.

“At least it’s a lockpick… We’ll have to make more later. You wanted my help on making something else, right?”

“Yeah. Do you know how to make a small collar-mounted microphone like a bug?”

* * *

Sumire was blushing furiously.

Ever since they got back from practice, she tried to carry on with the day like usual and luckily for her, Kasumi seemed to continue with their daily activities like normal. They finished their homework in time for dinner, and it seemed to be another quiet dinner.

…Perhaps it was a little too quiet.

Akane seemed to notice how Sumire was being evasive and not making eye contact with anyone, and looking closely, her cheeks were tinged a light pink.

“Sumire?”

“! Yes?”

“Is there a reason you’re being so quiet today? You’re usually quiet but today is completely different.”

“I-I-uh… i-it’s nothing!”

Sumire wolfed down her food, her hair hiding Kasumi’s grin from her sight. Kasumi took advantage of it and slipped her phone to her mom from under the table, open to the picture of Sumire and Ren hugging at Shujin. She tapped her mother’s leg lightly, Akane looking under the tablecloth to see the picture.

“Is it now, Sumire? Are you sure it isn’t about that Amamiya boy?”

Sumire’s blush only deepened as she ate faster, grabbing a glass of water when her plate was completely empty.

“You know, Kasumi showed me an interesting picture…” Akane took the phone and put it on the table. “Is this him?”

She froze and somehow, her face grew redder than her hair. Akane didn’t let up, however, enjoying the teasing as much as Kasumi was.

“So, looks like you got to meet your boyfriend early and even hug him! My little girl is growing up so fast!”

“Not just that, Mom!” Kasumi interjected seeing an irresistible opportunity to further tease her twin sister. “She even offered to make him a bento for tomorrow~” Akane had a gleeful smile as she and Kasumi looked at Sumire with the same expression.

Sumire seemed to calm down and slowly set down her glass. She got up from the table, smoothened out her clothes, and excused herself from the table. The moment she pushed in her chair, however, she ran like lightning to her room and locked the door, yelling into her pillow so loudly Shinichi had an exasperated and worried look, but still as amused as his wife and other daughter.

He looked at Kasumi’s phone in the middle of the table, however, and scrunched his eyebrows. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s the boy I was talking about. The one who lived at the café we’re planning on going to. It’s nice to put a face to the name. Maybe I should invite him over to the studio sometime…”

Shinichi paused after he saw the look in Akane’s and Kasumi’s eyes.

‘Just what amount of teasing have I doomed Sumire to…?”

* * *

Ren groggily opened his eyes, his face in his arms as he rose into a sitting position. He had to work well into the night to create the pin, and even then Morgana could only help so much until he decided to just call Naoto to get help, ensuring Morgana stayed quiet during the call. After creating 3 bugged pins to imitate the pins on the Shujin uniform, he fell asleep where he sat at the desk while Morgana seemed to be getting cozy in the couch. He looked at his phone open to the many lines of code he wrote yesterday. Exiting the code editor and noticing his early wake-up, sent a text to Sumire.

Ren – I finished making those things I promised. Meet me outside Aoyama-Itchome station or Shibuya station since I want to give you and your sister these as soon as possible.

He slipped out of his clothes and into his uniform, throwing them into a laundry bag for later. He came down to see Sojiro getting ready to walk up the stairs.

“Hey kid, you’re up early. I was just about to check on you since it sounded like you were pretty busy up there. Finished making what you needed?”

“Yup.” Ren pointed to his pin, Sojiro not entirely sure what he was looking at.

“Uhh…”

“There’s a microphone in the pin. I have it rigged up to send recordings to the cloud if it’s triggered.”

“I just- I’m not really the type of person who can understand this technical mumbo-jumbo, but why the hell do you and your friends need wires?”

“I’ll explain over some coffee. I’m still tired after yesterday…” Ren yawned and rubbed the sand out of his eyes. Sojiro relented and walked back down, Ren following not far behind. He slumped in his stool, Sojiro deftly picking out some beans before making use of a noticeably different method. Soon, the caffeinated black liquid sat in front of him, a plate of curry next to it.

“Thanks for the food…” Ren dove in, eating the curry. Nothing special. He finished the curry and set the plate aside, sliding the saucer in front of him and taking a sip of the coffee. It tasted normal…

His eyes shot open as a sudden surge of wakefulness shot into his brain. His heartbeat sped up and he felt like he was going to break out in a cold sweat. Whatever Sojiro did to the coffee this time, it was definitely spiked with enough caffeine to last him up to tomorrow.

“Holy-“

“I’ll teach you how to do that with coffee later, kid. But back to what we were talking about earlier. Why do you need a body mic on you when you go to school?”

“You know there are a bunch of rumors going around. I’m just trying to watch my back with it. As for my friends, they want a bit of a security net since they feel like they’re being creeped on. Plus, I’ve known them for a while and I definitely want them to be safe.”

“They the same friends you were hanging out with yesterday?”

“No, actually. I’ve known these friends for five years and counting.” Ren’s phone buzzed with a reply text. “Speaking of which…”

That’s good. We’ll meet you at Shibuya Station. – Sumire

Ren – Got it. See you there.

“One of them wouldn’t happen to be a girl, would they?” Sojiro had a smug tone which only complemented his knowing expression. “You never smiled like that from a text before.” His smirk grew wider at Ren’s blushing.

“Oho, maybe they’re more than just a friend to you?”

“…Mind if I go change? I still have school to get to today.”

“Sure. Oh, and let out the cat you brought with you. Can’t have it running around while I’m running a business here.” Ren froze.

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s my café. I know everything that happens here, no matter how hard you try to hide it. Plus, there was that weird meowing from the attic, but I didn’t want to bother you seeing as I had some stuff of my own to take care of. Does it have a name?”

“His name’s Morgana. Pretty well-behaved, but he wouldn’t stop following me back so I just picked him up. Sorry about not talking with you about it.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Just keep him out of the bottom floor during working hours and you’ve got nothing to worry about. I figured having a pet would keep you in line. Here’s some curry and water for the little guy.”

“Got it. Thanks, Sojiro.” Ren got up, took the plate and bowl, and went back up the stairs, setting down the food before shaking Morgana lightly.

“Hey Morgana.”

“Ren?”

“Sojiro knows about you, but he’s nice enough to leave you some food. Eat up and we’ll discuss the plan for the Palace after school.”

The black cat got up and stretched on the couch. He jumped down, looking at the curry inquisitively before taking an experimental bite. Suddenly, he started digging in, finishing the meal at a speed he only ever saw Sumire and Kasumi beat before.

“Woah, that was really good! Give the Chief my regards!” Morgana lapped up the water while Ren grabbed the pins and slipped them into his blazer pocket, tucking the lockpick into a spare container he shoved into his bag. Morgana walked over and found a place to settle in comfortably, Ren putting his books around the cat.

“Don’t damage my stuff and we’ll be good.” Ren zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, ready to face the next day of school.

* * *

Sumire and Kasumi looked around, trying to find the head of frizzy hair in the packed subway.

“It’s no use. I can’t see him.”

“Wait, Sumire, try texting him.”

She pulled out her phone and started texting Ren, but got a message as soon as she hit ‘Send’.

Ren – Where are you?

Where are you? – Sumire

Kasumi, who was looking over her sister’s shoulder, snickered at the coincidence. Sumire didn’t hear it, though she was still blushing from the fact that they both sent each other the same text at the same time.

Ren – I’m transferring to the Aoyama-Itchome line.

Kasumi and I will meet you there – Sumire

Sumire tucked her phone away before looking at Kasumi, who was holding back a laugh. However, she couldn’t get a straight answer out of her sister, much to her dismay.

The two waited a bit, Sumire still trying to figure out what was so funny to her sister by poking her a bit on a ticklish spot. They got some strange looks from people walking by, but not much more. Luckily for Kasumi, a familiar voice called out right as she was about to reach her breaking point.

“Sumire! Kasumi!”

Ren waved over the crowd and pushed through, reaching into his blazer pocket when he reached the two.

“Here. These are meant to replace the pins on the uniform. I disguised these as first-year pins, and mine as a second-year pin.”

It looked normal, a small circular metallic pin with a ‘1’ engraved into it. On closer inspection, though, there was a button on the back end, and the front was built somewhat like a speaker.

“These have small microphones built into them. If you’re ever in trouble, push the button and it’ll start recording sound that it sends to a cloud drive. Push it again to stop. Don’t use them unless necessary, though; it’s not meant to record a lecture.”

The two nodded and swapped out their pins, putting their old pins in their blazer jackets.

“Let’s go to school.” The trio entered the line and were eventually packed into a train, eventually pulling themselves out of it before walking to school. They split up and went to their homerooms, waving to each other when they parted.

Ren tuned out the incessant rumors and entered his classroom, getting situated with Morgana curled up under his desktop. Ms. Kawakami entered shortly afterwards, seemingly more exhausted than usual. She slammed her sheaf of papers on the podium and began writing the date on the chalkboard before pausing.

“Oh right… Sorry everyone, but I forgot to announce that the volleyball rally is today. Everyone is excused after the rally, but make sure you attend.” Kawakami resumed writing before signaling a student to start homeroom.

“Everyone, please rise…”

* * *

Kasumi and Sumire got up and left the gymnasium, still wearing their P.E. uniform. They were shocked at how ruthlessly Kamoshida spiked the ball into the student’s face, and decided not to watch any more of the rally.

“Let’s change and have lunch. You invited Ren, right?”

“Yeah, I did! I’ll grab the lunches and meet up with you two.” The two rushed to the changing rooms and put on their uniforms. Sumire rushed out, jogging up the stairs for some extra exercise before running straight into her classroom. She took out 2 large wrapped bentos and a smaller bento she managed to cram into her bag before she left. Her mother had endlessly teased her while she was cooking in the kitchen, making Sumire’s face burn hotter than the stove before she wrapped up the bentos.

With bentos in hand, she went down the steps to meet up with Kasumi and Ren in the courtyard before feeling a looming presence behind her as she reached the stairs to the first floor. Turning around, she saw the silhouette of Kamoshida standing much closer to her than she was comfortable with, a creepy and deranged grin on the P.E. teacher’s face.

He backed her into a wall, and though Sumire froze up, she fidgeted with her pin as Kamoshida leered at her, planting an arm beside her head.

_Click_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No sacrifices today, but this fic will have a prequel covering the events of P3. Just assume P4 plays along like usual, but with Ren joining during Nanako's dungeon. Release date uncertain, but once this fic reaches a certain point, it will be paused to let me finish the prequel.


	9. Protect You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren runs into Sumire, and helps her through the stress of what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today. I've felt like crap lately so it's a bit of a rest for me and for the story. Still some fluff but I'll try to put out a bigger chapter next.

Ren was coming down from the third floor, having extracted some information from one of the first-year volleyball students while Ryuji said he would try to get some info out of Takamaki’s friend, Suzui. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to extract information from the volleyball team member, and now he had a name and a face to go off of.

‘Mishima Yuuki, huh…’ Ren rushed down, still in his tracksuit before he got a text from Sumire.

Senpai, do you want to have lunch with us? – Sumire

Ren – Sure. Same place, right?

Yep! – Sumire

Ren tucked his phone in the pocket of his sweats, looking around to take the opportunity to question any volleyball team members he ran into. Soon enough, he saw someone in a P.E. uniform and wrapped up in enough bandages to qualify as half-mummified.

“Hey, you!”

“Hu- me?” The player pointed at himself, the students around him suddenly spreading out.

“I just have a question. It’ll be quick.”

“Uhh… I hav-“

“I’m _not_ taking no for an answer. Where did you get those injuries?”

Ren gave the player a hard stare, holding it until he snapped.

“Fine, fine. It’s from practice…”

“…You know there’s enough bullshit in those five words to fertilize all the farms in Japan, right? No way you got those injuries just from getting dunked on.”

_‘Dude, the delinquent is ruthless.’_

_‘I know, right? It’s like he stabbed the guy with his words…’_

_‘What the hell is he trying to do by asking the volleyball team? Not like he’d get any info out of them.’_

Suddenly, Ren’s phone buzzed and he looked at the screen, tapping out a message before his eyes widened and he shot out of the room. Cracks were left in the frame from how fast the door was shunted open. The volleyball member let out a breath, more rumors sprouting from what Ren just did.

_‘Does the delinquent just get off from bullying guys that are already beat?’_

_‘Dude, no way. Did you see how he reacted when he looked at his phone?’_

_‘He probably got found out by a plainclothes cop. At least the delinquent’s outta here.’_

_‘No way it was a cop. You think his mom’s telling him or something?’_

_“The delinquent, a mommy’s boy? Yeah, right?’_

In reality, it was none of what the rumors believed. Ren actually received a message from Kasumi with a confusing message.

Ren-senpai, have you seen Sumire? She said she’d grab our lunches a while ago but she hasn’t gotten back yet. – Kasumi

Ren – I’m coming down from the third floor. I’ll see what’s going on.

However, what sent Ren into a frenzy came directly afterwards: a single notification. A notification from the program he set up to receive recordings from the bugged pins he made last night.

_ PIN_0325S is recording _

* * *

“K-Kamoshida-sensei? Is there something y-y-you need…?” Sumire stammered, the teacher too close for comfort as he only leaned in closer.

“Now, now, Yoshizawa. Don’t be too worried.” He flashed a toothy grin. “Come with me. I wanted to discuss some… opportunities for you in this school.”

Sumire suddenly felt her wrist get grabbed. Kamoshida’s grip was tight, almost like a vise. Sumire tried twisting her grip, but couldn’t get herself out. She kept squirming, trying to resist in a weak voice.

“Kamoshida-sensei… please, let me go…”

“Don’t worry, Yoshizawa… I have to educate students about the dangers of hanging out with delinquents, especially if they’re as cute as you. It’s part of my job.”

Sumire shrank under Kamoshida’s gaze, looking around to see the students facing anywhere but where she was. The rumors only worsened the situation:

_‘Looks like Kamoshida’s going after the honors students now.’_

_‘You think Takamaki cares?’_

_‘Damn, I wanted a shot at her…’_

Kamoshida began pulling Sumire towards the P.E. Faculty office, Sumire feebly resisting and dreading what she thought was going to happen. In the crowd, despite the rumors, a set of rapidly-approaching heavy footsteps grew louder and louder.

The door slid open, Sumire getting dragged in against her will. Once the footsteps were right next to her, another hand wrapped around her torso, this one holding her with a softer and warmer grip giving Sumire a reassuring comfort despite the situation.

**“Let her go.”**

Kamoshida jumped at the intimidating voice, his grip loosening slightly enough for the other person to pull her close, nestling her face in his chest while her lunches hung at her side. She looked up to see steel-gray eyes boring into the terrified brown of Kamoshida’s own, her savior taking off the wide-rimmed glasses he was wearing.

Ren’s voice was almost demonic. **“Don’t even think about touching her. Now… or ever.”**

* * *

Ren was barely holding himself back, his rage reaching a boiling point. When he saw the text from Kasumi, he thought Sumire was simply held up somewhere and thought nothing of it, planning on waiting for her at the stairs. However, the pin recording notification sent his mind into overdrive.

_‘Don’t use them unless necessary.’_

Ren immediately looked around, blazing through the crowds to see if he could spot Sumire. He ran through the halls, looking around at an intersection before seeing the towering mophead go towards the P.E. faculty office. He broke into a dead sprint when he saw Sumire’s hair trailing close behind, the constant pausing showing that she was likely trying to resist without much effect. Now, he was holding Sumire close and staring daggers into Kamoshida, Arsène surfacing and mixing with his own voice.

**“Don’t even think about touching her. Now… or ever.”**

He looked to Sumire and his voice softened. “Go to Kasumi. I’ll be there soon.” With a reassuring pat on the back, he let Sumire dash behind him and towards the stairs. Refocusing on Kamoshida, he glared, taking pleasure from the fact that the perverted teacher seemed incredibly unnerved.

**“Listen here, Kamoshida. If you ever think about touching her, her sister, or anyone in this school again… Let’s just say you might be the one who gets to make one of those rumors true. The hard way.”** Ren had a wicked smirk, almost exuding an aura that pushed all the nearby students towards the other end of the hallway. He whispered his next words, ensuring no one else could hear.

**“Unless you want my heel buried in your pride, grow a conscience. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”** Ren turned on a dime and walked towards the stairs, sufficiently calmer now that he vented his anger. Pulling out his phone, he sent a text to the twins, tuning out the rumors that surrounded him as he slid down the railing.

_‘Dude, the delinquent needs to chill…’_

_‘Did you hear his voice? I thought I was gonna die standing next to him!’_

_‘The hell does he think he is? He’s standing up to Kamoshida and scoring a date with the gymnast twins?’_

_‘5000 yen says he’ll rape one of them before he’s somehow expelled.’_

_‘Either the delinquent gets expelled or Kamoshida gets shanked. I’m betting both.’_

Ren entered the courtyard, seeing Kasumi hugging Sumire with the lunchboxes still wrapped up on the nearby table. Before he called out to them, he saw Takamaki and a brown-haired girl he assumed was Suzui due to Ryuji discussing something with them. He saw Suzui bow with an apologetic look, say something to Takamaki, and walk towards the doors Ren came through.

“Uhh… Suzui-san, right?”

“Oh-umm… yeah, that’s me. Why?” The girl looked down, Ren analyzing her injuries.

‘There are way too many bruises on her face alone for it to be just from volleyball practice. Why does it look like she has a bruise all around her neck…?’

“Hey Ryuji!” Ren waved over. The blonde in question came over before Ren continued. “Take Suzui to the nurse’s office. No way she can go home covered in bruises like these. Make sure she goes there before she heads home.”

Ren leaned in, whispering so Suzui wouldn’t hear. “Also, I got a name. Look into a guy named Mishima.”

“Got it man. Suzui? Lean on my shoulder. That leg injury looks bad.” Before the girl could protest, Ryuji already had her arm slung around his shoulder and was slowly bringing her to the nurse’s office, taking care not to worsen her injuries.

Ren watched the two go through the doors, not noticing Takamaki walk up to him.

“Hey… what’s up with you? You came late on the first day really beat up, and there are already a bunch of rumors about you. There’s even stuff like you dating the twins over there,” She waved her hand towards the twins, “or threatening Kamoshida at the faculty office with a really scary voice.”

Ren pushed up his glasses and pinched his brow. “…How fast does the rumor mill at this goddamn school work?” He sighed.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“I have something to do, but before I go, just try to stay away from Kamoshida. He almost got Sumire just now.” This made Takamaki's eyes widen.

“That bastard…” Her light blue eyes flashed an unreadable emotion, but Ren recognized it in Yu when he was in the hospital 5 years back.

“Don’t do anything reckless, Takamaki-san. He’ll go down for sure. It just got personal.”

Before Takamaki could ask him, he walked off, wiping his stern expression off of his face as he approached the twins.

“Sumire, you okay?”

Ren was met with teary eyes from both twins, but both with completely different expressions: one of sadness and one of fiery determination.

* * *

For the third time at school, Sumire wrapped her arms tightly around Ren.

For the first time, Kasumi didn’t tease her for doing so, instead joining in.

Sumire came to the courtyard on the verge of crying, and when Kasumi asked what happened, it caused a dam to burst. She broke down, feeling Kasumi’s strong arms pick her up and guide her to the bench. Sumire felt her hair being stroked while her sister hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. She was barely able to get out the words ‘scared’, ‘Ren’, ‘saved’, and ‘Kamoshida’. The last one led Kasumi to piece together what happened.

Before she could say anything further, however, Ren’s voice filled the area, calming the atmosphere almost like a music box.

“Sumire, you okay?”

Now both of them found themselves hugging Ren, almost like a ‘thank you’ for what just happened. He gently guided them to the bench, stroking Sumire’s hair and patting Kasumi’s back. The two eventually calmed down, Kasumi letting go with a soft “thank you” while Sumire only gripped harder.

“…Hey, Sumire?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to keep hugging me, or…?”

Sumire hugged him tighter before she pulled back with a blush, grabbing the lunches she made and unwrapping them. Like the lunches he made years ago, Kasumi and Sumire had larger boxes while Ren took the smaller one. Opening it up, he saw a spread of teriyaki chicken with rice, seaweed flakes, and a lightly dressed salad; not terribly complex but still good food. He took a bite, feeling the chicken melt in his mouth.

“Mmm... delicious.”

“R-really? I’m glad…”

Ren plowed through his lunch, noticing some hints of familiar flavors in his food.

‘Isn’t this… hmm. It definitely tastes like it.’

He set down his chopsticks, now full from the meal. Next to him, he saw Sumire looking at him expectantly, her lunchbox also empty.

“That was amazing, Sumire. I’d love to eat it again.” Ren rubbed his neck and Sumire fidgeted, blushing lightly. “It did taste familiar, though… sort of like the food I make. Don’t tell me…” He smiled at her, seeing her trying to shrink into her clothes and hide from the embarrassment. “Were you trying to make me something like the food I made you back then?” 

“Y-yes…”

“Do you want me to give you some tips on cooking? There’s a few things you could definitely do better, but it’ll be easier to teach you in the kitchen.”

“H-huh?! Um… sure… when should we do it?”

“Um…”  
  
“How about when we come over, Ren-senpai? If you live in a café, shouldn’t you have a kitchen to use?”

“I’ll see if I can. I have to ask before I do that.” Ren rewrapped his empty bento, handing it to Sumire. “Thanks again for the food. You’re definitely a good cook. I’m sure you’d make a good wife someday.”

Ren immediately turned and left with a smile on his face. Sumire’s heart fluttered at the compliment from Ren before she processed the latter statement.

‘W-w-wife?!’

Suddenly, embarrassment flooded her head and she felt smoke come out of her ears, completely ignoring Kasumi’s teasing until she was snapped out of it by a buzzing from her phone. She sighed at the reminder for their upcoming gymnastics practice today.

After what happened, she wasn’t in much of a mood to do it, but she wanted to do it for…

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kasumi give her a one-sided smirk and she blushed, bracing for the teasing that would inevitably come with that look.

* * *

“Hey Ryuji. Suzui doing any better?” Ren opened the door to the rooftop now changed into his regular school uniform with Morgana over his shoulder.

“Yeah. You definitely made the right call tellin’ her to go to the nurse.” Ryuji kicked the leg of the table he sat at. “Can’t believe I didn’t make the same move earlier.”

“Anyways, we need to continue our talk from the Palace. I’ve made some stuff in case we decide to go in, so now we just need to decide whether or not we go through with it.” Ren set Morgana down on the desk between him and Ryuji. “Morgana, what did you want to say yesterday?”

“Heheh… I’m glad you asked. Basically, I’ve already told you that Palaces are a place where distorted cognitions materialize. What do you think would happen if it got taken down?”

“…Just to clarify, Morgana, a Palace is made of _distorted_ desires, right?”  
  


“You got it!”

“Then… they’d lose those desires and become good, right?”

“Got it in one, Ren!”

“Hold on, what? If we took down that castle, then Kamoshida’d be a good person? How the eff do we destroy a castle that big?” Ryuji butted in and sat up straighter, catching onto what Morgana was implying.

“I’m glad you asked. See, within a Palace is a Treasure, or the source of his distorted desires. Take that, and the Palace collapses. The best part is that since the Palace gets destroyed, there’s no evidence left for anyone to know what happened in there!”

“ ** _But_** , there’s a catch.” Morgana stopped Ryuji, who was about to jump out of his seat with a wide grin. “We have to get rid of his distorted desires to live, but desires are what humans need to live. The desire to eat, drink, breathe, sleep, all sorts of things! If you aren’t too careful and erase all his desires, then he could get a mental shutdown.”

“So you’re sayin’ he could die?! I dunno about this anymore… I’d rather have Kamoshida be a good guy, but I don’t think he should die…”

“I don’t think he’d necessarily have to die, though…”

“Whaddya mean, Renren?”

“His Palace is made up of distorted desires, not all desires. If we protect his normal desires, I don’t think he’ll die. The only question is what his normal desires are in the Palace.”

Ryuji uncomfortably shifted in his seat, so Ren tried to reassure him and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, man. I’m pretty sure that both the Treasure and the normal desires are heavily protected. We just have to make sure we get the right one.”

* * *

The building was full of students trying to head to the exit, and Sumire was waiting by the front of the school to see if she could see Ren. Kasumi went ahead to prepare their things for gymnastics practice tonight without questioning why Sumire wanted to stay at Shujin a bit longer. She wasn’t sure if she saw a smug or knowing look in her sister’s eyes when she left, however.

After looking around, she saw Ren’s mop of frizzy raven hair stick out above the crowd next to Ryuji’s short blonde hair. She was about to call out before she saw Kamoshida tower above the crowd, so she blended in and tried to avoid his leering gaze.

Luckily, she managed to leave without incident and looked around for Ren again, noticing Ryuji’s hair again shrinking away into the alleyway just in front of the entrance. In the shadows, she noticed a red screen and Ren’s bag set on the floor with a black housecat crawling out of it. She rushed over, eager to give him a quick thanks before she caught up to Kasumi for practice.

“Senp-“

A robotic voice suddenly came from the speaker of the phone.

_Kamoshida. Castle. Shujin Academy. Beginning Navigation._

Sumire cried out in pain as the world rippled around her. Ryuji and Ren jumped in surprise at her voice while the cat at her feet flinched at the sudden presence behind it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something to note, when Ren gets really really angry, Arsene occasionally surfaces and their voices mix, hence the occasional demonic tone it takes.
> 
> This fic is going to be preceded by my Persona 3 fic, which I linked below. The work after this will cover post-canon and hopefully tie them together.
> 
> In Death We Grow Closer - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471146
> 
> Updates are going to be erratic especially since I recently experienced a pretty hard burnout crash lately.


	10. Dancing with Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metaverse shenanigans begin in earnest, and Ren and Sumire experience a bit of deja vu. How did Ann enter the metaverse, though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting back into writing after burnout and I feel unconfident but here you go.

Ren’s mind raced while he felt the oppressive atmosphere of the Palace wash over him, melting his clothes into his tailcoat and mask. He looked over to Ryuji and Morgana to see they also transitioned into their Metaverse appearances before refocusing on Sumire.

“Wh- Senpai, what’s going on…?”

“What are you doing here, Sumire?” Sumire jumped slightly at Ren’s tone. It wasn’t hostile, but he was clearly on edge and guarded.

“Senpai, tell me. What’s going on here? Why are you in those clothes? What happened to the school? Who’s-” Sumire peppered Ren with questions, the boy in question struggling to come up with a straight answer before she was cut off by Shadow Kamoshida’s voice reverberating throughout the air around them.

“Today is a great day for us! Thanks to your valiant efforts in my name, not one but two princesses join me in my castle today!”

“…shit. Sumire, I need you to leave. Now.”

“Senpai, let me help! It’s dangerous, right? Please, let me come with you!”

“No.”

“Why, Senpai?” Sumire pleaded with him. “Ple-“

Ren exhaled loudly, unwilling to do what he was about to do. “Sorry, Sumire, but I can’t.” He turned Sumire towards the alley and walked alongside her before he pushed her forwards lightly, not enough to trip her but enough that she would return to the real world. He swiftly turned around before they went back into Kamoshida’s Palace, ready to investigate and do some small-scale infiltration.

* * *

Sumire stumbled and caught herself on the wall. Ren and Ryuji were nowhere to be seen, and the school was back in its rightful place instead of the disgustingly grand castle that was there moments before.

‘What was that place? Why did Senpai push me away like that? Is he going to hurt himself again?’

She pulled out her phone after it rang. Looking at the screen, Sumire sighed as she picked up to hear Kasumi’s voice over the speaker.

“Sumire, where are you? I thought you’d be done by now!”

“Sorry Kasumi, I’ll be there soon. Looks like I’ll have to do it tomorrow…”

She hung up before running through the crowd of students, catching a ride to Shibuya where she was met by Kasumi holding both their bags.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a red and black app quietly installed itself on Sumire’s phone, hidden away for its inevitable future use.

* * *

Ren felt sick to his stomach.

No matter what word he could come up with in the dictionary, the feeling he had right now surpassed even the most extreme variants.

They explored Kamoshida’s Palace, much like before but instead focused more on entering deeper into the area. After unlocking a few chests and going through the decorative pottery, they had a fair supply of loot before they came across a few guards that they dispatched without much trouble. Ren found that he could, in an isolated conversation with a Shadow, have them empty their pockets for him or even recruit them as a Persona in and of themselves.

Speaking of other Personas, Morgana and Ryuji endlessly questioned him at their last safe room on Izanagi, and while he could summon his friend and former leader’s persona, he felt an odd disconnect, like he was hollowly mimicking Yu instead of being himself. Luckily, the Shadows he recruited laced this disconnect, so he could summon, say, Pixie without feeling dissociated or unnerved while fighting.

Luckily, they didn’t have to enter any major battles, so they focused on entering as far as they could, which while it wasn’t far, was enough to gather more intel which only worsened how Ren felt. They already knew about the abuse of the volleyball team members, but after spying on a gathering Shadow Kamoshida organized, he saw it.

Shadow Kamoshida was standing higher than the guards, naturally, while his guards were in formation as they watched. Suddenly, they saw Takamaki in a pink and black polka-dotted string bikini and cat ears standing next to him with an odd, airheaded look. Ren gripped his pistol tightly, ready to take action If something happened, but he almost dropped it when he saw a figure appear in the room.

In the darkness, Ren saw 2 slightly translucent feminine figures appear, one with hair tied into a ponytail while the other one had hair flowing down like a waterfall. Both figures wore incredibly skimpy leotards and identical fake animal ears. As they stepped into the light, Ren would’ve jumped out and shot everything in sight had Ryuji and Morgana not held him back.

Kamoshida’s two new “princesses” were none other than Sumire and Kasumi, and from the looks of it, Kasumi was going to be his next target.

“Wait, crap dude! Aren’t they the twins you were hanging out with yesterday?”

“They are.” Ren ground out through his teeth. “And I’ll be damned if I let him get away with this.”

“Don’t worry, Ren. He won’t get away with this. With the stuff we got, I think we can make something that’ll really help so we can make sure Kamoshida won’t get away with that.”

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji jumped up and pumped his fist, but he yelled a bit too loudly since all the guards and Shadow Kamoshida turned their heads towards their hiding place.

“Oh? Looks like we have some unwanted eavesdroppers. Guards! Bring them out!”  
  


“Dammit Ryuji, be quiet!”

“Sorry, man!” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another silhouette of a girl, one with bunny ears and a ponytail but decided not to dwell on it while they sprinted through multiple rooms, dashing in and out of doors, hiding behind furniture, and climbing through rafters until they heard the metallic clank of footsteps and distorted voices of the guards slowly fade away.

Once the area they were in was silent, they went through a few more vents and hallways and got in some more fights before finding themselves back at the vent shaft they entered the castle from. Exhausted from the running, they dragged themselves out of the castle and the Metaverse for the day.

Soon after, Ren and Ryuji left, letting themselves get swept up in the mass of students to the subways and back home. As soon as they got back, they promptly collapsed in their beds, unable to keep their eyes open out of sheer exhaustion.

* * *

Sumire was idly fidgeting with her pen, her focus on the math lesson fleeting as her ears desperately attempted to gather bits of the lecture. Thoughts of the castle kept running through her head, as well as the now-present issue of Kamoshida’s increasingly leering gaze on her and Kasumi. Thankfully, Mr. Ushimaru wasn’t teaching their class at the moment so she didn’t have to worry about any unwanted chalk bullets flying in her general direction. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed some movement on the school roof that clearly didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hey, what’s that?” A student stood up in his desk and looked towards the roof, at the same place that caught Sumire’s eye at the same time.

“Hey! Focus on the lesson! You know this will be on the tests, right?”

“Is she gonna jump?!”

To Sumire, the world froze. The girl on the roof must be desperate, trying to commit suicide. Sumire flashed back, 5 years ago, when she had similar thoughts flood her head. Thoughts of worthlessness. Thoughts of anger. Thoughts… of absolutely crushing depression. Above all else, thoughts to end it all.

It all almost ended with that truck. Back then, she had Ren-senpai help her through these phases, even if the first time was entirely by chance.

Only this time, there wasn’t anyone to help that girl.

Out of sight of everyone in the classroom, a window opened on the second floor. Their focus was on the brown-haired girl, who had the tips of her feet hanging off the edge. She looked around.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

…Down.

Slowly, she shut her eyes and took a breath. As if time slowed, her body began falling to the ground, bit by bit. Seconds passed, but the girl’s eyes remained shut. She passed the second story window, a figure jumped from it and caught her in both their arms. Their raven hair billowed in the quickly passing air while they turned themselves to take the fall first, but only managed to get himself barely under the girl. As they hit the ground with a sickening thud, Sumire caught a glimpse of the figure’s face. Her heart stopped as their face was quickly obscured by the converging crowd. To the surprise of her classmates and twin sister, who didn’t see the figure’s face, she ran out of the classroom and skipped steps to reach their side.

The figure was none other than Ren Amamiya.

* * *

One moment, Ren was listening to Ushimaru drone on about the branches of government.

The next, he was falling through the air with a window ajar behind him, his arms wrapped protectively around Suzui, the girl covered in more bruises than he saw last time.

Thanks to his investigations into Kamoshida’s Palace the day prior, he figured out the identity of another one of Kamoshida’s targets. However, with the amount the cognition was solidified in the Palace, Ren kept his guard up today in case something happened.

His hypothesis was well-founded, and his instincts went into overdrive when the boy sitting in front of him noticed Suzui standing on the rooftop. Once he saw her on the edge, everything clicked. Suddenly, only one thought ran through his mind.

‘Save her. Save her like you did Sumire.’

His body moved by itself, and now he found himself rapidly falling headfirst towards the dirt below him. 

‘Dammit, if I don’t do something, we’re both screwed…’ His mind raced while he tried to find a way to protect Suzui, eventually settling on trying to shield her from the impact. However, since he was incredibly close to the ground, he couldn’t do much more than slip his arm behind her back as he hit the dirt, leaving a large divot around both of them.

A crowd quickly formed around him and Suzui as his vision spun, blurring while a throbbing pain in his arm and back made itself more known. He began the effects of another concussion setting in, while the commotion from the crowd began to blur.

Faintly, he could barely hear a muted ‘Senpai!’ from the crowd before flashing lights, sirens, and a waterfall of red mixed with the area around him, swirling like paint until he was left to fall unconscious again, all his senses washing away as he was submerged in darkness.

* * *

Ren woke up, hearing the beep of medical equipment and feeling the weight of a blanket over his chest. He couldn’t feel anything in his left arm, and after trying to move it with what little energy he had, he realized it was wrapped up in a cast.

“Uggggghhhhh… what’s going on…?”

“Senpai! You’re awake!” Ren turned to his side, noticing a blurry Sumire sitting there. As his vision cleared up, he noticed Kasumi wasn’t in the room, and he wasn’t even in the school anymore.

“Su… mire? Where am I…?” Ren looked around, seeing a small room and hospital equipment around him. Sumire stared intensely at him, and on a nearby table, Ren saw a file containing some reflective black sheets. She followed his eyes to the folder and let her own widen slightly before she suddenly pressed the call button.

Shortly afterwards, the door opened and a doctor peeked around the corner to see Sumire sitting next to a very awake Ren.

“Looks like you’re awake. Honestly, your injuries were less severe than we expected, so I shouldn’t be too surprised. Are you okay with me debriefing her on your injuries?”

“That’s fine.” Once Ren said those words, he nodded and walked over, pulling out what Ren assumed were his x-rays.

“Considering the situation in which you got your injuries I’m surprised you aren’t even more hurt. You have hairline fractures running along your back and ribs, a large fracture in your forearm, and a large, but not severe bruise on the back of your head. Aside from that, from your injuries and the people who saw you fall, it looks like you were able to save Suzui-san from committing suicide.”

“That’s good… How is she?”

The doctor grimaced and hesitated before giving a few details. “Suzui-san is comatose right now… we don’t know when she’ll wake up. If you didn’t save her, she might not have had much of a chance of survival. While I would like to disclose more of her injuries, I can’t to protect her privacy. I hope you understand.”

Ren gave the doctor a weak nod, already knowing what he would likely hear if the doctor did tell him.

“As for you, you should be able to recover from your more minor injuries relatively quickly if you avoid doing anything too strenuous. I would recommend keeping the cast on for your arm, however. You can probably remove it in about 6 weeks’ time.”

“Thanks, doc.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to check in on Suzui-san’s condition. Your discharge papers should be ready around the time school ends. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to use the call button.” With that, the doctor hastily rushed out of the room, leaving Ren and Sumire alone.

“So, Sumire, care to explain why you’re here instead of in class?” Ren asked Sumire with a teasing tone, but the look in his eyes was serious.

“O-oh, umm… when you and Suzui-senpai fell, they asked for a teacher to come with both of you. None of the teachers came, though, so Takamaki-senpai and I came with you here. Kasumi couldn’t come with us, though…”

Ren let a soft smile play along the edges of his lips as he reached over with his uninjured arm and settled his hand on her hair. Sumire let out a small “eep!” at the contact, but leaned into his hand with a light blush. Ren began ruffling her hair, running his fingers along the silky strands.

“Thanks for staying with me, Sumire. Don’t you find this a bit funny, though?”

Sumire paused and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, doesn’t this situation feel familiar to you?”

“Oh, you’re right Senpai!” Sumire giggled. “It’s been so long since then. Just… please don’t put yourself in danger so often, Senpai.”

“Don’t worry, Sumire. I’ll do my best to stay safe. I don’t know what I’ll have to get into, but I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about me.” ‘Hopefully I don’t have to take too much damage in the Palace. Since I’m gonna be getting regular checkups, I should probably avoid healing it too much at once.’

Sumire thought for a bit then relaxed, taking Ren’s words to heart. There was a nagging feeling at the back of her head that wanted to call out Ren’s bluff, but Sumire resolved to keep an eye on Ren to make sure he followed through with his words. Suddenly, she was snapped out of her concentration by Ren combing her hair with his hand again, followed with a few pats.

“Has anyone ever told you your thinking face is cute?” Ren smirked while he kept petting her.

“Senpai…” Sumire whined while she felt like she wanted to die of embarrassment on the spot. Despite this, she offered no resistance to Ren, enjoying the warm feeling in her chest from his hand on her head.

* * *

“Ren, you sure you don’t want me to heal your arm?”

“Positive. I have to get regular check-ups, and no way in hell am I gonna be the next medical marvel.”

The trio collapsed in a safe room, thankful for the rest after they ran through a gauntlet of Shadows. After isolating a few of them, Ren successfully recruited a Silky and tried to recruit a cat-like shadow with a scimitar, but had to settle with making it empty its invisible pockets for him.

“Morgana, you’re the least injured and fatigued out of all of us. Can you scout around the safe room and gather some intel?”

“On it. And before I forget, take this.”

Morgana pulled out a blueprint and gave it to Ren before he crept out of the safe room. Ren took a breath and unrolled the blueprint, looking at the mechanical components and materials needed while taking inventory of the materials he already had.

“So we have a coil here, looks like a spring-loaded trigger, a sharpened tip… I’d call this a harpoon if it was on a stick. Is that a retraction mechanism…?”

“Dude, that looks pretty cool. What kinda crap d’ya need to make it?” Ryuji peeked over Ren’s shoulder and looked at the blueprint with him, but he scratched his head at the complex mechanisms that covered the whole page.

“Let’s see. Considering Morgana gave it to me now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was really cheap or really expensive. So, looks like we have-”

“Ren!” Morgana burst into the safe room, slamming the door behind him. “Bad news! Looks like some other people entered the Palace!”

“Wait, what?! Could you tell who they were?” Ren shot out of his seat and he instinctively tensed up, luckily not injuring his arm.

“I only overheard some guards, but I heard the word ‘princesses.’ It’s bad news no matter how you look at it…”

Ren instantly rolled up the blueprint and tucked it away to look at later. He dashed out of the room with a brief “follow me” motion and ran through the halls, ducking behind the small pedestals and seats when he got a glimpse of a guard. While he ran with adrenaline coursing throughout his body, he was hoping against hope that whoever the “princesses” were, they didn’t include her among them.

* * *

With some light scouting and their knowledge of the Palace from the last exploration, they found themselves hiding by the doorway to a conspicuously labeled room. The atmosphere around the door made his lip curl in disgust, and his heart pounded against his chest, hoping that his suspicions weren’t true. He took a deep breath, braced himself, and pushed the door open.

“…Are you kidding me?” Ren dug his nails into his palm at the sight of the room in front of him.

The room was carpeted with red velvet, and the corners were dark from the dim lighting that came from a chandelier in the middle of the room. Conspicuously scattered in front of the doorway were multiple faceless, pink-skinned female volleyball players who were all topless and moaning… inappropriately, to say the least. On the other end of the room, there was a guard captain standing behind Kamoshida.

Ren froze at the last presence in the room, however. Tied to a Saint Andrew’s cross which was trimmed with gold and surrounded by Shadow guards was none other than Ann, the girl they turned away before they entered the palace to avoid a repeat performance with what happened with Sumire.

“Takamaki! Are you okay?” Ren let his knife fall into his hand while he ran around, coming to a stop a few feet away from where she was pinned.

“Wha- Amamiya-kun? What’s going on? Is that Ryuji with you? Where are we?” Ren opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by Shadow Kamoshida while Morgana and Ryuji ran up, ready for a fight.

“Lady Ann!”

“Ann!”

“Tch, you thieves again. Right as I was about to enjoy myself…” Shadow Kamoshida mused through his teeth. Ren tried taking a step only for the guard captain to point its sword at Ann’s neck. “Ah-ah… make one move and the dismemberment party begins.” His expression turned lustful. “Maybe I’ll start with her clothes…”

Ann gasped, but her eyes burned with her fury. “What the hell? Seriously, what’s going on?!” She struggled against her restraints futilely while Kamoshida tipped her face up towards his own.

“You see, Takamaki, you’re in a castle of everything I could ever want. Anything I say goes here, and anything I want, I get. That includes you and-”

“Cut the bullshit, Kamoshida! You think I’ll just give in like that?!” Ann thrashed around as if she was trying to punch the false king, but froze when her cognitive double materialized by him in a cloud of black dust.

“Well, princess? She talked back to me. What do you think we should do?”

“Talking back is, like, totally unforgivable.”

“The only punishment for that is death. Guards, get rid of the fake. I have some other business to tend to, including the princess right here.” He leered at the cognitive Ann, who returned a seductive look while Ryuji and Morgana gritted their teeth. “Ah, but it’s a shame that girl jumped. You could have kept it from happening, too…”

“What…? What are you trying to say with that, Kamoshida?!”

The fiery determination and anger in Ann’s eyes was quickly replaced by sheer despair when Kamoshida opened his mouth to answer. “You were so reluctant to throw yourself on me that I had her take your place.”

Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana froze. “You- you didn’t…” Ann turned her eyes to the floor and mused to herself. “Shiho… is this my punishment for not taking the bullet for you…? I’m… sorry…”

Kamoshida allowed his mouth to form a sick grin. “That’s more like it. You should have had that face from the start. The face of someone who caused their best friend to attempt suicide…”

“The punishment for that crime is death.” With a sweeping motion, he turned and began to move towards the door with the cognitive Ann in tow. As he reached for the handle, however, a knife flew towards the handle, almost slicing off his fingers as it embedded itself in the door.

“Ann.” Ren’s voice was stern and laced with venom, but it clearly wasn’t directed at her. “Why do you think it’s your fault that Suzui-san committed suicide? How is it your fault to begin with?”

Ren whipped out his gun and trained it on Kamoshida while he walked slowly toward his knife. “Whose actions were the direct cause of her jumping off the roof? Was it you… or was it Kamoshida?”

The world darkened as Ren saw a blue glint appear in front of Ann’s chest. It vanished as quickly as it materialized, but it was enough. A glimmer of hope. Ann raised her head, her voice quiet but firm. “You’re right… What was I thinking? For Shiho, and for me… even if I can’t take back what happened, I won’t let him take our future!”

**_My… It’s taken far too long._ **

**_Tell me… Who will avenge them if you don’t?_ **

“I will… Come to me!” Ann hardened her glare when a sudden wave of pain accompanied the echoing voice that flooded her brain. She writhed against her restraints, desperately trying to clutch her head.

**_Forgiveness was never an option… Such is the scream of the other you who dwells within._ **

****

**_I am thou, thou art I._ **

**_We can finally forge our contract…_ **

**_Nothing can be accomplished by holding yourself back._ **

****

“Understood… Carmen.” The temperature in the air slowly rose while her headache subsided, and parts of the carpet began singeing around her feet. Ren saw a tarot assemble itself, piece by piece, in the shape of a heart where the blue spark appeared.

**_Very well… Then I’ll gladly lend you my strength._ **

**_It’s time for you to turn the tables and burn away the deceit he veils his secrets in!_ **

A pillar of fire encircled Ann, burning a vibrant orange before fading into azure blue. Small wisps of flames were absorbed into Ann’s body, gradually changing her clothes into a red leather bodysuit with multiple zippers and allowing her to shatter the cuffs that held her in place. As they died down, Ann stood with a furious expression staring down the guards and Kamoshida in front of her.

“I’m not holding back anymore! I don’t care what it takes… I will rob you of everything! Carmen!”

The blonde girl flung out an arm and called out, allowing the spectral woman behind her to manifest multiple fireballs in the shape of a heart from thin air and strike most of the guards, blowing them back into the walls and breaking one of their masks. She ran forwards and kicked the guard captain’s sword in the air, fluidly catching it and slicing through her cognitive double, who dissolved into dust much like how it appeared.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ren re-holstered his gun and dislodged his knife, holding it with his thumb while he gripped the captain’s mask and pulled. Ryuji and Morgana rushed the two guards, with Morgana leaving two large gashes in one mask while Ryuji slid under the other guard and ripped off the last mask with his momentum. All of the Shadows convulsed, pooling into a red and black puddle before a single shadow appeared. Any other day, Ren would have questioned why he was fighting a purple demon sitting on a floating toilet, but his primary focus was on the battle to come.

Ren let his hand settle on his mask, allowing it to dissolve into blue flames as he got into a defensive stance to protect his injured arm.

“Let’s do this.”

* * *

Ren ran in with his knife, swiftly gashing the demon’s face with an inward swipe and following up with an upward slash. In one motion, he swapped his weapons and shot his gun, allowing Arsène behind him to coat the bullets in its curse attacks. Each shot tore through the demon, but glanced off the floating porcelain seat beneath it. Ren kept firing until his pistol only clicked.

Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann jumped opposite the demon, surrounding it. Ann, now armed with a whip from a nearby shelf, lashed out at it leaving multiple cuts across its body before the cord wrapped itself fully around it, allowing Morgana and Ryuji to repeatedly strike it with their weapons.

The shadow struggled against its restraints before hunching over, sitting up straight to let out a cluster of blades of wind that loosened the whip, knocking Ann and Ren back a fair bit while Ryuji fell flat on his back. Morgana stood his ground, the sharp blades barely injuring the feline fighter. Once the gusts died down, Morgana pulled out his slingshot and summoned Zorro behind him. Ann primed her whip with Carmen behind her, the two personas filling the room with a blue light.

“Now, Zorro!”

“Carmen! Burn it down!”

Zorro summoned multiple blades of wind that surrounded and nicked their target, trapping it in a cyclone that Morgana struggled to keep up. When Ann’s fireballs struck home, however, they knocked the Shadow onto the floor and left its beard singed.

“So it’s weak to fire, huh… Let’s go, everyone! All-out Attack!” Ren called out to Morgana and Ann, and brought forth Arsène before they started to temporarily compensate for Ryuji. The three flourished their weapons and leaped into the air, brutally attacking the sole enemy in front of them, with Ann leaving minor cuts everywhere that Morgana deepened. Ren stabbed into the shadow, and Arsène dragged a darkness-infused claw across its skin to leave behind severe burns. After a few seconds, they broke out of the attack panting, and groaned when they saw a light green energy surround and heal most of the wounds it sustained.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ann noticed Kamoshida creeping out of the room. “Stay here, you asshole!” She shot a few fireballs, but hit the door that the false king shut behind him. Ren put his hand on Ann’s shoulder, stopping her from chasing him.

“Wait. Let’s focus on the fight at hand, then we can chase him.” He re-prepared his knife and saw Ryuji finally pull himself together.

“Rgh, that got me good… Let’s give it to ‘em Renren!” Ryuji pulled himself up and tapped his lead pipe on his shoulder. Morgana healed the blonde boy, a majority of his bruises fading before they charged, letting their masks burn off. Captain Kidd appeared, and Ren let Arsène return to his mask before pulling out one of the Shadows he recruited.

“Captain Kidd!”  
  


“Agathion!”

The personas charged forward, each of them slamming into the Shadow headfirst before Ryuji divekicked it. Ren followed up, stomping downward and digging the heel of its boot into its back. He jumped off and stood with his allies, revealing a severe injury where his heel was.

Annoyingly, the demon healed that wound too, immediately sending another blast of wind in all directions. Ren ordered, “Follow my lead!” while leaping into the air, and while he tucked himself in for a roll, changed his persona once more.

Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana all jumped and evaded the blast of wind, and following Ren’s orders, prepared to summon their personas as they saw him reach for his mask, now emblazoned with the Roman numeral I.

“Zorro!”

“Carmen!”

  
“Captain Kidd!”

“Pyro Jack!”

A barrage of lightning and wind flew towards the demon while fireballs surrounded it and formed a blaze with the carpet beneath it, knocking it down more injured than it seemed from their All-out Attack earlier. Once Ren saw it try to heal himself, he smirked.

“Not today! Let’s go all out!”

On his rallying cry, everyone leapt in unison, slicing and bashing the shadow brutally that left multiple areas seemingly ready to dissolve. Ren jumped up above the King of Filth, rearing his arm and stabbing through it, landing on the other side of his target. He got up slowly and snapped as he saw his allies perform their finishing touches: Morgana fell into a chair that he turned around in with a cocky smirk while he held a cigar, Ryuji faceplanted and seemingly broke his spine before jumping back upright and pumping his arm while Ann spun around and held her hand up in a peace sign. The moment each member finished their finishing touch, all the injuries they inflicted burst, leaving the Shadow to dissolve into the burnt floor beneath it.

The teens and cat were a panting mess, having exerted a lot of energy to counter their enemy’s healing. Ren pulled out some pills and sodas from his coat and passed them around. Thankful for the lack of enemies, they slumped against a wall and took the medicine, feeling some of their strength return to them.

Ren had a nagging feeling in the back of his head, however. He turned to Ann and asked, “How did you get in here? I thought we stopped you from coming with us.”

“You did…” Ann had a guilty look. “I came in with…”

Her next words sent Ren into a frenzy, adrenaline pumping through him faster than it was in the fight they just had.

“…the Yoshizawa twins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.
> 
> Where have I been?
> 
> A lot of stuff's happened, and school isn't helping my writing schedule. The burnout I dealt with when I last updated is still hitting me a bit, but I'm getting back into writing, so bear with the slower update schedule for the next few chapters. I'll be alternating between this fic and its prequel, which you can find pretty easily. For all of you Rig the Game fans, Hawkright is dying from school harder than I am, and there's still a lot to iron out between us for future chapters before the next update, so chapters are pretty unlikely. Aside from that, I'm free from the hell of college apps, so now I just need to juggle schoolwork and this. Sounds easy until I look at my assignments and groan at the fact that at least 75% of my homework time is in math or physics, which is more math. Once we get further along into the story, chapters should come out faster since I oddly have more planned for later parts of the story than now, but just let me die a bit in my self-imposed suffering.
> 
> Not everything's bad, though. I have a surprise for you guys when we reach that point. Hold tight :)
> 
> Also Pyro Jack is infinitely superior to Jack o' Lantern and you cannot change my mind.


	11. Returning the Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sumire and Kasumi entered the Metaverse with Ann. Now, Ren has to save them. Or will they return the favor instead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I'm back for now. Had a bit of writing spirit but until school lets up, the chapters are gonna be shorter for the foreseeable future.

_Sumire had gathered the last of her papers from her teachers, but she barely spared them enough time to explain the material she missed before she dashed out of the door, noticing that most of the students were already clustered into their groups._

_While she walked down the halls, she pulled out her phone and swiped to her IMs, but right as her thumb was about to press the icon, she froze. There was a pulsing red app with a black eyeball on it on her screen, but she didn’t remember installing it. After tapping on it a few times to no effect, she simply shrugged it off and sent Kasumi a text to meet in front of the school._

_Sumire slipped her phone into her bag and tuned out the gossip that surrounded her. Her phone, however, didn’t._

“You guys hear about the delinquent?”

“Kamoshida was pissed…”

“Apparently they’re getting expelled…”

“We don’t need scum like him here at Shujin. Take out the trash, am I right?”

_Thankfully, despite her red hair, she blended in with the mass of students and passed through the front door, avoiding Kamoshida’s piercing gaze. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, however, she noticed Ren, Sakamoto-senpai, and a black cat disappear into the alley she saw that castle a few days ago. She watched Ren pull out his phone as they disappeared into the shadows of the alleyway._

_Her heart dropped with her expression. Even though he was so injured, he still wanted to risk his safety to do whatever it was he did there._

_Sumire was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the blonde second-year approaching her casually. The moment she was addressed, she jumped a bit._

_“Did you see what they did or was it just me?”_

_“Eep!”_

_“Oh, sorry! I thought you’d know something since you went with Amamiya to the hospital after… that.”_

_“You’re… Takamaki-senpai, right?”_

_Takamaki-senpai nodded. “I tried to sneak up on them doing whatever it was, but they saw me and shooed me away.”_

_“I accidentally snuck up on them a few days ago doing the same thing… sorry about the trouble, Takamaki-senpai.”_

_“Wait, what? What were they doing? And don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault.”_

_“All I saw was a weird castle before they pushed me out. It was-“_

_“A castle? I’ve heard Ryuji say that a lot… you were in the alleyway, right?”_

_Sumire tentatively nodded before her wrist was grabbed. Before she could protest, Takamaki-senpai pulled her hood over her head and pushed through the crowd, making a beeline for the alleyway. Once they got there, Takamaki took off her hood and panted lightly, catching her breath._

_“Uh… Takamaki-senpai, why did you pull me here?”_

_“Shh!” Her blue eyes radiated an intensity that didn’t fit the blonde as she silently pointed to the top of the stairs, where Kamoshida towered above the crowd seemingly looking for someone. “I really didn’t want that pervert of a teacher to find one of us, let alone both together.”_

_Kasumi came into view, thankfully far away from Kamoshida. She ran over quickly with her ponytail swaying._

_“Hey, Sumire! What’re you doing there?”_

_A mechanical voice came from Sumire’s bag, and the world began to distort._

Candidate found. Location verified. Distortion verified. Beginning Navigation.

* * *

Kasumi shook the bars of their dark cell again, yielding the same result as before. She groaned exasperatedly and sat back down against one of the walls, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in her arms. Sumire, on the other hand, was trying not to break down. Whatever brought them back to the castle she saw 2 days ago got them into this situation, and she was hoping that Ren could find them.

Suddenly, the weird Kamoshida wearing only a pink robe, pink speedo, and sandals burst into the corridor, a legion of weird masked knights following him and trying to form a shield wall facing the direction they just came from. Kamoshida? had a terrified expression, almost as if he was running from something and the guards were trying to protect him from them.

Whoever was chasing this Kamoshida clearly was stronger than they expected, since no sooner did the guards finish setting up a defensive wall did the sound of creaking and clattering metal ring out with the opening of the door. It seemed that the guards had another trick up their sleeves, however, and they immediately burst into some dark goo that sprouted a bunch of monsters. Sumire and Kasumi yelped and hugged each other tightly, trying to protect themselves from a danger that wasn’t directed at them.

Whoever was fighting the monsters blasted them away with what seemed like fire and electricity, leaving a puddle that seeped into the floor and disappeared.

“Guards!”

The gold-armored guards moved forward, raising their shields and blocking an attack from the assailants. From the faint torchlight in the hallway, they saw a silhouette of the person who was fighting this Kamoshida. The light reflected off of the blade of their knife, and Sumire’s eyes widened at the cast on the figure’s left arm, as well as the unruly raven hair that she associated with only one person. At the person’s call, she knew immediately who was saving her.

“Persona!”

Ren gritted his teeth at the 50th guard they were fighting. They were annoyingly close to Kamoshida and were already worn down from fighting the first guard captain when Ann awakened, and their energy only declined further with each guard they fought, captain or otherwise. Now that they were faced with yet another captain near the holding cells, the fatigue they all accumulated was starting to take its toll. In one last-ditch attempt, he pulled off his mask.

“Persona!”

Arsène emerged from Ren’s domino mask, cackling as its spindly fingers wove a ball of cursed energy that flew forward, blasting a guard in the chest and enveloping its golden armor before dissolving it and the shadows inside. He charged again, the rest of the thieves behind him and just as exhausted, and attempted to slash at the guard. However, he was so drained that he was easily swatted aside, his knife leaving no more than a small dent in the armor before he was tossed into the cell bars and had the wind knocked out of him.

Ren struggled to pull himself up and tried to catch his breath before he felt himself get pulled up by his collar. He was pinned against the cell bars, and his lack of energy as well as his broken arm left him completely unable to fight back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana all struggling against the guards but being easily taken out.

“You have nowhere to run. Are you ready to die?” Shadow Kamoshida leered behind Ren, looking into the cell he was pinned against. “While my guards finish you off, I think I’ll have some fun with my latest toys…”

Ren’s heart dropped. Behind him, he heard two gasps and tried turning his head to look at who was behind him, his dread increasing the more he struggled. He saw, against the light, two blurry but very familiar silhouettes: one with red hair cascading like a waterfall and another with auburn hair tied up.

“Su… mire… Kasu… mi… s-sorry…”

His world grew fuzzy as he felt his consciousness slip further and further away, quickly lacking the energy to summon any of his personas. When his vision began to flicker, he immediately felt a burst of pressure.

Then, nothingness.

* * *

Sumire grew increasingly panicked as she saw Ren fall unconscious, and her worry began to give way to anger. Anger at herself for dragging Ren into another bad situation, anger at herself for being the reason why Ren was unconscious with a sword at his throat, anger at herself for being so _useless_.

Anger at Kamoshida for doing so many terrible things to Ren, yet not batting an eye at how much of a horrible person he was being.

Sumire’s eyes shut tight in frustration and she cried angry tears while shaking the bars of her cell futilely. ‘If only I could help Senpai this time… I’m just too weak! All I did was bring him to his death…’

Kamoshida continued taunting the two blondes and cat-like monster, and he sent some other guards to pin them against the wall as well, each one facing the sharp end of a sword or spear. Satisfied with their seemingly certain death, he turned his attention to the still-crying Sumire and stunned Kasumi.

“Don’t worry about delinquent scum like them… I’ll show you how much better than him I am to you.” He cupped Sumire’s face in his hand and forced her to look up at him, the redhead responding with a glare that practically burned the gym teacher’s Shadow.

“Tch, well then. If you’re gonna be so tough then I’ll just break you in. Watch, then! Watch your precious delinquent die!”

Sumire collapsed to her knees, bringing her hands down before they brushed against the silk of Ren’s gloves. She looked up and saw Ren’s determined face, feeling a fire that burned with Ren’s and her rage.

“No more… I won’t let you hurt him any more because of me!”

Strong gusts began collecting at her feet. Her eyes flashed yellow, and she suddenly clutched her head from the migraine. Her glasses fell off as she struggled to lessen the pain and panted heavily, hearing a voice no one else heard. Seeing her own face in her head, beginning to flicker to an unfamiliar, yet at the same time familiar face.

**_Will you continue to be the damsel in distress?_ **

**_Will you lose your truest friend from your own weakness?_ **

****

**_He protected you many a time…_ **

**_Wouldn’t it be best to return the favor?_ **

****

**_Let’s show the people who lie to everyone_ **

**_What it means to cross you… partner._ **

“This… was the last straw. Please, help me!” A black mask pointed at the ends with silver decorations formed over her eyes as the migraine worsened further.

**_I am thou, thou art I…_ **

**_The last place you’ll be found is the sidelines._ **

****

**_Make our debut._ **

**_The lead role, the star of the show._ **

**_Just as they will know your name,_ **

**_Call mine own from within your heart!_ **

“Minnie!” Sumire ripped off the pointed black mask, letting blood spatter everywhere that stained the rocks under her feet. Despite the pain, she had a half-manic, half-restrained grin as she let the mask fall behind her. Before it even hit the ground, it disintegrated in the same bright blue flame it appeared from. The flames blew upward, creating a pillar that flared out, forming the silhouette of a dress, wide-brimmed hat, and lever-action rifle.

As soon as the flames dispersed, what was left in their place was a tall long-haired slender woman, wearing a wide-brimmed black-feathered cowboy hat that covered her eyes and a dress that was woven with multiple thorny stems and roses, as well as a leather ammunition belt draped across her chest. Minnie pointed the barrel of her gun at the blood splatters and fired, hitting each one with pinpoint accuracy and shooting out a ball of light that homed in on each guard, blasting their armor to pieces. With a fiery determination, Sumire glared at the terrified shadow of Kamoshida and placed a hand on the bar.

“I won’t let you get away with this. If you left him alone, I wouldn’t have minded, but you made his life worse the moment he stepped into Shujin. Now…” Sumire’s hand let out a burst of blue flames, crushing it with superhuman strength as it suddenly became covered with a silken glove identical to Ren’s. “I’ll do whatever it takes to take you down. Minnie!”

The blue flames once again re-ignited around her hand, this time traveling up her sleeve and covering her clothes, changing them into a black tailcoat with frilled sleeves, leotard, and thigh-high boots. A chain sat at her waist adorned with a steel violet and a sheath for the rapier now in her hand. Immediately, she slashed forward with Minnie, destroying all the bars in front of her and leaving a large oozing gash in the pumpkin ghosts that came out of the guard that was most recently holding Ren against the cell.

After dodging a few fireballs and finishing off the remaining enemies in front of her, she ran to Ren’s side and called out “Dia”, once again bringing out Minnie and directing a stream of light green energy that sealed his wounds and steadied his breathing. His eyes gradually opened as he regained his energy and he wore a small smile. She helped him to his feet and they picked up each of the thieves before turning their attention to Kamoshida. Once again, he summoned a large number of guards, and the newly revitalized thieves once again charged in, each one breaking a mask and preparing to fight.

Ryuji led the charge, bashing in a shadow’s helmet and letting it reform into pink horned demons. He wore a crooked grin as his mask faded away into Captain Kidd. Ann’s whip cut through another shadow’s mask and wrapped around the green-skinned floating women that appeared, tying them all together. Morgana let fly a burst of pellets from his slingshot that knocked off the helmets of 3 guards, not even letting them materialize before the pellets ricocheted and hit the formless shadows, causing them to disintegrate instead. Ren took notice and, in one clean motion, ripped off a guard’s mask before shooting 2 others with his gun, allowing Sumire to swipe at the shadows he shot with her rapier as Minnie lashed out with a thorned stem, destroying the last unmasked guard Ren targeted.

At once, Ryuji bashed the pink demons into a hailstorm of lightning before letting Captain Kidd charge them directly into the stone wall, leaving a crater and nothing else on impact. Ann’s whip tightened while Carmen appeared, sending fire running along the whip and incinerating the handmaidens that Ann still had bound.

“Dammit… I have no more need for the twins anymore then. Guards!”

The sudden order from Kamoshida drew their attention away from the shadows they just killed, and immediately Ren summoned Arsène, casting a wall of Eihas that allowed Sumire to pull Kasumi with the rest of the Persona-users as they ran away from the castle and into the alleyway.

_Returning to the real world._

* * *

“You ok, Sumire? Kasumi, how about you?”

Despite his multiple injuries and immense exhaustion, he looked at the twins with worry before letting it dissipate once he saw that they were completely unharmed. They seemed the least exhausted out of everyone at first glance, but they were clearly barely able to stand.

“We’re fine, Senpai… ngh!” Sumire collapsed against the wall, bracing herself against Kasumi who was notably less exhausted than everyone else.

“Man, that was effin’ tiring… I feel like a sack o’ bricks…” Ryuji groaned.

Ann was holding herself up against the wall. She didn’t say anything, but she was clearly drained from awakening and then holding her own against a barrage of shadows shortly afterward.

“Why are you guys so exhausted?” Kasumi asked, mostly a pointed question to Ren, who was still panting. Before he could respond, Morgana spoke up.

“It’s because of all the fighting we did, as well as both Lady Ann and Sumire awakening to their personas.”

…

“What?” Morgana was somewhat confused at the expression Kasumi had. The girl in question blinked slowly, rubbed her eyes, and scrunched her eyebrows while Sumire just looked at him with the most baffled expression ever.

“Did- did the cat just talk?”

Ren facepalmed, completely forgetting that neither twin, until now, didn’t know that Morgana could talk.

“It’s all cognitive. Long story short, since you heard him talk over in the castle we were just at, you can hear him talk in the real world.”

Their confusion didn’t clear up.

“If you want to know more, let me know. I’ll meet you on the rooftop when you do. Right now, we should probably get home.”

“I’ll bring Ann home. We used to hang out back in middle school.” Ryuji slung Ann’s arm over his shoulder and began walking away. Before he was out of earshot, he called out, “I’ll leave you with your girlfriends over there!” with a mischievous grin.

Ren and Sumire stuttered and blushed, while Kasumi looked somewhat confused before dragging the two to the station. They split off at Shibuya and, once they got home, all collapsed on their beds, sleeping until their alarms woke them up the following day.

* * *

“For the last time, Kasumi, you can’t come.”

“Come on, Ren! You’re fine with Sumire coming, but not me?”

After having cornered Ren on the rooftop and forcing an explanation from him early at lunch, Kasumi was furious that Ren now wasn’t letting her join in.

“Look, Kasumi, you may have gotten out relatively unharmed last time you were in there, but this is dangerous. If you go in you might end up dying.”

“Oh, so it’s ok for Sumire to go and die?”

“No. You saw what Sumire did with me, Ryuji, Ann, and this little guy here,” Ren scratched behind Morgana’s ear before he continued, “and getting that power is life threatening in itself. If you don’t have it, coming with us is a liability. No one in the group is nearly strong enough to protect 3 newbies and someone who can’t even fight.”

Before Kasumi could protest, Ren pointed out one last point. “I also noticed that you were struggling in your gymnastics. For now, you can help from the sidelines and when we’re better equipped to make sure you can come with us safely, you’re welcome to join us. I know how important gymnastics is to you, and this would just hold you back at the moment.”

Kasumi could clearly see that Ren wasn’t going to budge, and disappointedly gave in. “Ok…”

Ren ruffled her hair with a smirk, drawing her attention back to him with a pout. “At the least, you’re an honorary member. If you want to help, we could probably use some of your gymnastics knowledge in the future.”

Her pout quickly changed into a beaming smile.

“Alright then, Ren-senpai! I’ll do my best!”

_I am thou, thou art I._

_Thou hast strengthened an existing bond…_

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_That breaketh thy chains of captivity…_

_With the birth of the **Charity** Persona,_

_Thou hast obtained the winds of blessing_

_That shall lead to freedom and new power…_

_Charity: Kasumi Yoshizawa – Rank 1_

_Barbel_ _é Hook – Allows slower melee attacks at a longer range with the grappling hook._

It was time to take down the king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! I finally got past this roadblock. Today's a bit of a special chapter since it's my birthday, and this is my gift you you (I know it's cheesy and doesn't make sense but screw it). I've been sitting on the start of this chapter for a while already, and haven't really been able to figure out a way to proceed until now. If there are any small issues or discontinuities let me know in the comments since I haven't written in months. Hopefully, I can wait out the school stress and get back to pumping out chapters, so look forward to the summer!

**Author's Note:**

> Huge shoutout to the authors who wrote fanfics that inspired this fic:
> 
> Dev0ted: Wish for Control https://archiveofourown.org/works/24510076 | Aftermath of the Game https://archiveofourown.org/works/25192981
> 
> Tharon (SunsetHours on AO3): Joker on Ice https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013726 | Ordinary Days with You https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199290
> 
> Hawkright (co-authored by me): Rig the Game: Royal https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699164
> 
> ThaOneP5RFan: Changing Fates! https://archiveofourown.org/works/24571657
> 
> Light Dark (Light_Sumire on AO3): Renegade https://archiveofourown.org/works/24782095
> 
> and many more (I'll shout them out in later chapters!)
> 
> The prequel fic is out! P3MCxFeMC but same genre as this fic, so if you're into that then check it out!
> 
> In Death We Grow Closer https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471146#main


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